Our 29th annual PMD Family Support Conference was another wonderful success! We had 19 families from 11 states and Canada. We had 17 PMD males, ranging in age from age nine months to 38 years old. We had three new families attending for their first time us this year, but as always, our other PMD families made them feel right at home! We also had several large families with us this year, so there were a lot of siblings! We had a few Grandparents with us again this year too. It is always great when the extended families members can join us, it encourages them to see the other families and children. As rare as it is for the PMD parents to meet others facing the same challenges they are, it is even more unique for Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles to meet others like themselves, trying to support their family members who are caring for PMD children.
We had several families who came in on Wednesday and Thursday to get the party started, which was nice. It's always great getting in a little extra bonding time with our extended PMD family!
Friday some families saw doctors at Riley Children's Hospital, while other families chose to visit the Indianapolis Children's Museum or the Indianapolis Zoo. On Friday evening we had pizza for dinner and a fun activity that gave the families a chance to experience some of the same frustrations that their children might. That was followed up by an aquatic PT presentation by Dr. Carolyn Sobieski.
Saturday we had the doctors presentations at the hotel as usual. This year's speakers were: Dr. Larry Walsh (Neurology), Dr. Celanie Christensen (Genetics), and Dr. Joseph Croffie (GI). We were able to live stream the medical presentations again this year, which we feel is a nice addition for those unable to join us. Jill Andrews, one of our PMD moms, also recorded the presentations for us again and we will be making them available upon request. Thanks to Jill for also supplying the audio equipment this year to assure everyone could hear the doctors. Our wonderful group of volunteers (Kayleigh, Taylor, Shari, Abby, Shirley Jo, and Vicki) provided child care during the medical presentations. For lunch we had Subway sandwiches and Saturday evening we did our traditional group dinner to Buca Di Beppo both of which was provided by donations. The older guys also took their annual trip to Hooters, complete with pictures! As always we had many opportunities for visiting and late night chats.
This year's conference was, as always, a great success. We cannot say thanks enough for all the generous cash donations, gift cards, Amazon purchases, time, talents, etc.! It really helped us stretch our budget. You all make everything we do a true labor of love!
If you would like to view the doctors presentations from the PMD Family Support Conference please send us a message using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the page, we will have them available asap.
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation for our Annual PMD Family Support Conference you may do so by clicking here.
We had several families who came in on Wednesday and Thursday to get the party started, which was nice. It's always great getting in a little extra bonding time with our extended PMD family!
Friday some families saw doctors at Riley Children's Hospital, while other families chose to visit the Indianapolis Children's Museum or the Indianapolis Zoo. On Friday evening we had pizza for dinner and a fun activity that gave the families a chance to experience some of the same frustrations that their children might. That was followed up by an aquatic PT presentation by Dr. Carolyn Sobieski.
Saturday we had the doctors presentations at the hotel as usual. This year's speakers were: Dr. Larry Walsh (Neurology), Dr. Celanie Christensen (Genetics), and Dr. Joseph Croffie (GI). We were able to live stream the medical presentations again this year, which we feel is a nice addition for those unable to join us. Jill Andrews, one of our PMD moms, also recorded the presentations for us again and we will be making them available upon request. Thanks to Jill for also supplying the audio equipment this year to assure everyone could hear the doctors. Our wonderful group of volunteers (Kayleigh, Taylor, Shari, Abby, Shirley Jo, and Vicki) provided child care during the medical presentations. For lunch we had Subway sandwiches and Saturday evening we did our traditional group dinner to Buca Di Beppo both of which was provided by donations. The older guys also took their annual trip to Hooters, complete with pictures! As always we had many opportunities for visiting and late night chats.
This year's conference was, as always, a great success. We cannot say thanks enough for all the generous cash donations, gift cards, Amazon purchases, time, talents, etc.! It really helped us stretch our budget. You all make everything we do a true labor of love!
If you would like to view the doctors presentations from the PMD Family Support Conference please send us a message using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the page, we will have them available asap.
If you would like to make a tax deductible donation for our Annual PMD Family Support Conference you may do so by clicking here.
