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| Altogether there were 186 people at the Third International Symposium on von Hippel-Lindau, held in Paris at the Sénat, the French Senate building, inside the Luxembourg Palace. There were physicians and researchers from all over Europe, U.S., and Japan. About 30 family members from France attended on Friday, and there were three from the U.S., one from Canada, one from Belgium, two from Ireland, and two from Denmark.
Photo by Chris H., Belgium |
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Once the conference began, we were in full-time meetings for three days. Before the beginning of the meeting, however, we had some time to see Paris and play together. Click here to see some photos from our photo album.
The meetings were held in English, the Symposium abstracts were published in French and English, and the proceedings on Friday were mostly held in both languages, with French-to-English translation by Joyce Graff, and English-to-French simultaneous translation by Dr. Hélène Dollfus, an ophthalmologist from Strasbourg.
At the Gala Dinner on Thursday night we were treated to some wonderful music -- first by premiere violinist Norbert Bohlinger, winner of the first prize in music at the Paris Conservatory of Music, and second by Herr Professor Doctor Hartmut Neumann, whose violin music has become a tradition at the VHL Symposia. Then both violinists, joined by a volunteer chorus of attendees, sang "Thank You" to Dr. Richard. See photos.
Friday evening, after the conference ended, several of us enjoyed dinner at a small restaurant around the corner from our hotel. See photos.
Those who attended are invited to share their impressions of the meetings, feedback, reports, photos, etc. Please send information and photos electronically to editor@vhl.org or by snail-mail to VHLFA, 2001 Beacon St, Suite 208, Boston, MA 02135-7787 USA.
Contents:
- Highlights of the Congress - a multi-media presentation!
- Agenda
- Session Abstracts (coming)
- Research summary (coming)
- Action items and committees for follow-up (coming)
The symposium in Paris was a success, and I want to thank you and the VHL Family Alliance also. It was my first VHL meeting and I was very happy that for the first time in my life I did not have to explain what VHL is. As I am now about to publish more VHL and hemangioblastoma related articles, I would very much like to be on your mailing list to receive your "VHL magazine" to know where we are regarding the VHL disease.
-- Mika Niemelä, M.D., Neurosurgeon, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland
I just wanted to thank you for the nice time we spent together at Paris. And of course thank you again for the Tshirt I will wear with pride, and the video I already watched two times. The book "How are you" is almost done,
and I think it's marvellous. Everything I felt is written with such accuracy, I wouldn't find the words like Ms. Foote did. It's all so true. At the Conference I learned a lot again. Not only from the speakers, but also by talking to several people, and just by being there.
-- Chris Hendrickx, VHLFA Chair, Belgium
I can't begin to express the overwhelming feeling of hope that I felt being in the company of so many doctors and other professionals who are all, in some way helping families with VHL. It was an experience I'll never forget. Sometimes VHL can be very isolating, and to be in the company of so many different types of doctors and professionals from so many different countries gave me such a feeling of well being. There is no cure for VHL yet, but we have a lot of hope, and I've never felt as much hope and optimism for the future as I did during this conference.
My personal thanks to Dr. Choyke, Dr. Niemela, Dr. Goldfarb, Dr. Oldfield and Dr. Kreusel who all took the time to answer my many questions. Thank you Dr. Neumann for the lovely violin playing during the Gala Dinner I hope to hear it again someday.
Professeur Richard and Mireille, everything was absolutely wonderful. The locations were superb and more than we could have asked for. The wonderful surroundings and delightful dinner were unforgettable. Many thanks to the both of you for a wonderful and informative time.
Joyce, Peggy, Don, Chris, Maura and Bobby, thank you for the special memories and loving support I can always depend on.
-- Tania Durand, VHLFA Co-Chair, Canada |
