OUCH At The IHC

by Helen Williams

The International Headache Congress was hosted this year by the American Headache Society in Philadelphia from the 10th to the 13th September.

OUCH had a booth which was sponsored by LifeGas and was manned by Elizabeth Goodman and myself. We were lucky enough to have some unplanned help from Carrie Preston who was herself a delegate. She came by between sessions and was extremely helpful in talking to both doctors and medical students about the ONSI. I believe a lot was learned by the people she spoke to and from an angle they couldn't easily have access to at any other time. She helped make OUCH look really good and I can't thank her enough.

Richard Schneider, Lizzie's supporter also came along to help at his own expense and was invaluable in being our "runner." From moving Oxygen for us, to getting photo-copying done, there was no job too small or too big. He helped us make things run smoothly and helped us look very professional.

I will be able to give much more information once I have spoken further to the contacts made. We have spoken to drug companies, neurologists and medical students all of whom want to know more and actively want to work with us.

We were greeted warmly by members of the World Headache Alliance who I have met before and also the American Headache Society both of whom remarked on how long we manned our booth for and with what enthusiasm. We had a determination to reach out to as many people as we possibly could and we didn't miss a single opportunity. I found even walking back and forth to the hotel I was stopping and chatting again to neuro's we had previously met. It was incredible.

Some of you will remember Neil Pugach who spoke to us in Richmond. He has been involved in Research for the last couple of years and has asked to be remembered to you all. He is a lovely man and remembers the impact we made on him as a group.

We even had a write up in the Philadelphia Enquirer and have had interest from other newspapers for more articles on CH too.

We were at the congress from 7:30 in the morning and 6:30 on the Saturday around until gone 5pm. I only left the booth once to look at poster sessions and was heartened to see how many there were on clusters. Over ten in the one aisle I got down. It might seem nothing much is happening in CH but I was so heartened to see it is - we have hope.

I will be updating this with more info as soon as I can. We have pictures we will be uploading but I need to check if I can post pics of the poster sessions before I do so. I don't want us to upset anyone through exuberance. I hope it will excite you all as much as it has me.

I can honestly say that while we are professional amateurs and not amateur professionals. I am extraordinarily proud of our team. I am so so proud of OUCH. You all can be too.

Here are pics from the IHC. For the benefit of people on slow internet I won't post them, merely link to them. I hope you enjoy them. They were taken by Richard Schneider.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/575366648lrODLM 

DISCLAIMER: The information provided on this web site is for educational and informational purposes only.  It should not be used as a substitute for seeking professional care or for the diagnosis and treatment of any medical disorder.  O.U.C.H. makes no claims as to the scientific/clinical validity of the information on this site OR to that of the information linked to from this site.  All information taken from the internet should be discussed with a medical professional!