Copy of email from Bill Biermann (foundation director) looking for final counts for Fall Conference planning.

[Heather Still]

Hello All,

I hope all is quiet, and back to school for many of you.

Right now, I have 16 parents who have expressed a ‘strong’ desire to attend our Oct 17th conference. Just to reiterate the details, October 16 (Friday) is early arrival time, and the Foundation would sponsor a late dinner, around 7pm, at a nearby restaurant. On Saturday, we would start our conference at 8:30. We will finish up the day at around 4pm. The Foundation would supply continental Breakfast, lunch would be brought in, and we would probably catch some fast serving restaurant on Saturday for dinner.

Please answer the following:

Who is still very very interested in coming?

Who would be bringing a guest or spouse?

Finally, Dr Smith would be willing to do a Friday clinic if you wanted a second opinion. ( of course, the Saturday conference is not open to children, so another party would have to babysit if you wanted to attend Saturday. You could just do a Friday clinic, if you just wanted to have your child re-evaluated only).

We need to know these for facility planning purposes.

Thanks

Bill Biermann

[Linda Burke]

Calling all wacky aHUS moms (and Dads, too) attending the Oct 17th conference..... I was thinking that our pre-conference dinner could benefit from a good dose of laughter as we "meet and greet". What do ya'll think of wrapped gag gifts as an ice-breaker - those who want to particpate could bring and exchange a small (less than $5.) item sure to draw a few giggles. All in good taste, of course.... well, not TOO good !! Hey Jodi, just the first volley of activity in your headline "aHUS Moms Get Crazy in Iowa City". Let me know folks! =)

[Heather Still]

Linda Burke has posted some discussions on the agenda for the event. Bill Biermann is the primary contact for room reservation. He has a hotel giving us a group discount. His email is [e-mail]
Anyone planning on attending, please let Bill know. Can't wait to see you all there.

[Kathy Yates]

My husband and I plan on attending. Just let us know when you have finalized your agenda, since this is our first conference. Our daughter was just diagnosised in July of this year. Thank You. This is all so new to us.

[Heather Still]

I just booked a flight for myself and my husband. We have a layover in Chicago from 10:47 - 11:55 and will be in Iowa by 12:51pm on Friday. I rented a car and will happily share with anyone. Looking forward to meeting many of you for the first time and seeing others again.

[Heather Still]

Copy of email from Bill about hotel info for Christy and anyone else that didn't get it:
All,
The University of Iowa room rate for the Sheraton is $94 night. Richard Smith has offered his personnel to us to reserve the rooms. So If you could respond with:
1) The number of nights (Friday, Saturday).
2) Room Preference (One King size, or Two Queens)
I will get the Univ of Iowa the info, and you would pay with Credit card the day of arrival.

Also, Richard Smith had offered to do a “clinic” for any children. We all realize that flying Dialysis machines around the country just doesn’t work, so I asked Richard if he would just meet with the Parents on Friday to discuss the particulars about each case. Richard has offered to do that , but in order to do this, he would need a “summary” medical record sent to him before hand of the major facts of each case. For example, Nathan ‘s Doctor has a two pager with all significant surgeries, Genetic tests and other health factors all in one place.
So Phyllis has expressed an interest in meeting with Dr. Smith ahead of time. Is anyone else interested? If so, let me know, and we will schedule a time with Dr Smith on Friday.

[Linda Burke]

Hope to catch up with some of you on the 2nd leg of my flight from Chicago (departing 1:29 pm on United flight 7818) and arriving at Cedar Rapids (2:24 pm). Strangely, I had booked on US Air so if the times look identical to yours it may be that we're on a "shared" plane and that US Air/ United have two different flight numbers for the same aircraft. While I don't want to do a rental car for myself, I'd be happy to "chip in" with shared ground transportation... I think it's about a 20 minute drive from the airport to the hotel- not sure about from the hotel to the U of Iowa, so I'm open to ground tranportation ideas. Hope everyone is enjoying a peaceful (fun??) Labor Day weekend!

[Christy]

I didn't get the hotel info!! My email address has changed....it's [e-mail] ---

[Svetlana Finley]

I would love to come, but it is our return day from Make a Wish trip. I would love to get all ur notes ;-)

[Heather Still]

I checked Moline for me and it's the same price. I will be flying into Cedar Rapids with either my sister or my husband. He won't give me a straight answer of course, so I'm still waiting for him to decide. I will be renting a car. So if anyone else is flying into Cedar Rapids we could share a car. I think there is a shuttle from the airport to the hotel also. Hopefully everyone got the hotel info from Bill....if not, let me know. I am buying my airline tickets next week. Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone.

[Melissa Hearn]

Christy - It's cheaper from Atlanta. like $200 cheaper.
Phyllis - My plane doesn't get in until 4:44 CST I like the idea though. Anyone else flying into Moline around that time on Friday?