Team PHenomenal Hope energized by PHA Conference

June 25,2012

Team PH with the biking Floridians, Kathleen and Joseph

This past weekend was a huge weekend for Team PHenomenal Hope. Friday marked our official announcement, both by the PHA and UPMC. Team members Ryanne and Stacie joined Patty at the 2012 International Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is safe to say that Conference far surpassed our expectations, as team members attended a variety of sessions, learned a lot about pulmonary hypertension (PH), met a ton of wonderful people, and – most of all – made new friends.

We had dinner with Joy, who epitomizes her name

Conference was loaded with great informational sessions

On Friday, while Patty attended the scientific sessions, Ryanne and Stacie were just about everywhere – in patient/caregiver sessions, in the halls. They learned about living with PH and met people – some of whom had heard of Team PH and others who were intrigued by our T-shirts (thanks to Garbella designs). People freely shared their stories as we shared ours. The team was thrilled to meet Diane, Bob, Mollie, Rino and other members of the PHA Board and Staff. And it just so happens that there are a ton of fellow cycling enthusiasts in the PHA – we loved talking with Kathleen and Joseph from Florida, think we may have recruited Robert from UT as a grease monkey for our RAAM crew, and Eric from Michigan, with whom we may have to go ride when we’re up there for Iceman. The conference was non-stop, between sessions, dinners, the Friday Night Generation Hope gathering, and manning our table at the PHA booth on Saturday. Saturday night was a special night at the Founder’s Dinner, where we enjoyed dinner with Joy and Vern, and even got a little silly. After Sunday sessions, Team PHenomenal Hope felt welcome and excited to be a small part of this huge, amazing family known as the PHA.

The team left feeling energized and ready for our task ahead. Brainstorming on the plane home, we move into our next phase of foundation building and sponsorship/supporter drive as we target our official team training launch in November 2012 (PH Awareness Month). Meanwhile, be sure to check back on our blog as we keep you updated on events and team members’ races along the way. We’re all definitely on the bike and racing, some of us building base, getting ready for some key races in November (Anne-Marie’s IronMan Arizona, Patty and Stacie’s IceMan Cometh in Michigan, and the famous Pittsburgh Dirty Dozen after Thanksgiving.

Many thanks to the PHA and our PHA friends for a fantastic conference.

Please enjoy these photos from Conference, shared with permission from our PHA friends.