So the time has finally arrived, tomorrow I am heading off for Holland to attend and present at the International Dupuytren’s Symposium. I am really looking forward to meeting all of the doctors and researchers as well as fellow charity workers and patients. The amount of information that is going to come from this experience is phenomenal and is hopefully going to bolster the advice that I can pass on to patients that are exploring their options. These conditions, although not life threatening, can be a real pain and potentially very depressing and a get together like this with so many great minds should give more hope and faith to patients everywhere.
The symposium is going to explore the root causes of these conditions by looking at the science through the genetics of the condition and the way that the cells from patients act under various different conditions and much more. Doctors will be there to go through the different treatment options and improvements that are being made, success rates and I am sure much more. Finally patients will be there to give our voice and our opinion about what is needed and what we want. Hopefully there will be many positives and many future collaborations as a result of the work that networking that has gone into this meeting.
On a personal note this is quite an achievement for me. Having been in science and having to leave that field because of this condition I never thought that I would have the chance to be at, let alone present at, an International Conference and yet ironically as a result of writing a blog on that condition here I am ready to go and achieve something that I never thought would happen. It is amazing how life can go, 3 years or so ago I was in so much pain that I was barely able to walk, changing jobs and newly married and now I can run, play badminton, have a daughter and am well established in the job and now presenting at this conference.
If there is anything you want me to ask then please just let me know and I will do my best to dig out the information. Stay tuned for lots of posts giving what details I can from the conference. I do have some more exciting running news which I am just deciding the best time to share.
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