Letter from the Director: Turning Pedals at PHA’s International PH Conference
The Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions holds a special place in the hearts of the community and the history of Team PHenomenal Hope. In 2014, four Team PHenomenal Hope athletes took on the Race Across America during conference and brought inspiration and hope to many in attendance. In 2016, we had our first official table at conference and were overwhelmed with positive response from the community. Those connections helped us launch our movements. We met hundreds of patients, many of whom joined us in our Let Me Be Your Lungs campaign, and we recruited athletes to race with us to help raise awareness and funds to improve patients’ lives.
We look forward to this time of interacting with the community, inspiring others, and, most of all, being inspired in what we do on a daily basis to race to make a difference. This year in Orlando, we are doing something special that will engage pulmonary hypertension (PH) industry leaders and patients in the PH community.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we will hold the Team PH Peloton Challenge at our exhibit booth. This will bring together our corporate leaders, medical centers, Team PH athletes, friends, patients, and caregivers at our booth as participants push themselves to go as far as they can on the Peloton bike in one hour. Our Peloton Challenge participants have trained for weeks, and fundraised to support Team PH’s mission.
We also will be reaching out to doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and members of the community to join us as athletes, supporters, or Let Me Be Your Lungs patient partners. Simultaneously, we invite patients to join our Pedometer Challenge- the first 200 patients to come to our booth will receive a Team PH pedometer to track their conference steps. At the end of conference, patients will report back to us their steps total, and our top stepper will receive a gift from Team PH.
We hope that you are inspired by what we do to build awareness and to support our PH community. Please consider making a donation to our ongoing efforts to make a difference in the lives of people with pulmonary hypertension. You may make a donation online at www.teamphenomalhope.org, or by check to Team PHenomenal Hope, P.O. Box 1115, Beloit, WI. 53512.
