Skip to main content

Donna and Marie are on their way to West Point

I grew up around the military. I think of West Point as being, well, you know, West Point. But, this evening Donna and another HPS mom, Marie DelVecchio, are on their way to West Point, New York for a joint meeting of the New York chapters of the American Thoracic Society and the American Lung Association.

Donna has managed to get a table right outside the meeting room doors to set up our little display, pass out literature about HPS to doctors, and hopefully talk to some of them about the drug trial.

The event sort of came together at the last minute. When Donna called to inquire about the possibility, no one knew how to answer the question. Could a patient group have a table? Would they have to charge? But, the details were hammered out and now Donna and Marie, at this very minute, should just about be to West Point.

Tonight they’re having dessert at Dr. Seward’s house. And, at o’dark thirty they’ll be bright eyed and bushy-tailed, smiling like a couple of perfume spritz girls at a department store. “Do you know about Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome?” - I can hear it now. Grin! Fact is, I wish I was there in all my blonde albino glory!

I’m very hopeful about the excursion because New York City (and New York State) have the largest Puerto Rican population outside of the island its self. I’m positive many of the doctors they’ll see tomorrow have HPS patients – and many of them might not realize it.

It’s a stretch given that the conference is next week!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ratner's Cheesecake

Here's another recipe from Toby! Thanks Toby......and I'll get the others posted soon! Ratner's Cheesecake and plain cookies Ratner's was a Jewish dairy restaurant in the lower East Side of Manhattan. This recipe, from my disintegrating, no longer in print Ratner's cookbook, is the closest I've ever gotten to reproducing the rich, heavy cheesecake my mother made when I was a kid. It's worth the time it takes to prepare and every last calorie. Dough Can be prepared in advance. Makes enough for two cakes. Can be frozen or used to make cookies – see recipe below. 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup shortening 1 teaspoon lemon extract 1 cup butter 2 eggs 3 cups sifted cake flour ½ teaspoon salt 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients with hands. Refrigerate 3 -4 hours, or preferably overnight. Filling (for...

Some good news about Pirfenidone

Below is a press release from Intermune, the company that makes Pirfenidone. They have essentially reviewed the various clinical trials going on, and decided that Pirfenidone is safe and well tolerated. That would pretty much go along with what we've observed in the HPS community as well. We have a few folks that have been on the drug since the late 90s and continue to do well. Of course, as a journalist, I do have to say consider the source - but at the same time, as someone in a Pirfenidone trial, it's good to know. Results of Comprehensive Safety Analysis of pirfenidone In IPF Patients Presented At European Respiratory Meeting - Analysis shows safety and tolerability of pirfenidone across four clinical trials - VIENNA, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- InterMune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITMN ) today announced that the results of a comprehensive review of safety data from four clinical studies were presented at the 2009 European Respiratory Society Annual Congress in Vienna, Austria...

The next generation with Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome

I'm so behind on posting about the trip to Puerto Rico. Since the episode of Mystery Diagnosis on Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome ran right after we got home, it's been a little busy. These, however, are my favorite pictures from Puerto Rico. I know, not pretty senery etc - but these little guys and gals inspire me. They are the next generation of folks with HPS, and if we keep up the hard work, they will live better lives because of it. They motivate me.