On Friday the 16th of October the O’Connor family set off to the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel. The haemophilia weekends, as we refer to them are always met with great expectations by both adults and children alike. The social aspect of the weekends are important for all the family. Questions of who will be there, what group am I in, or be old enough to get into, and what volunteers the children will pester, fill the conversation in the days prior. The parents are busy phoning friends who live in different counties to plan the weekend. We had attended a conference in this hotel previously and had enjoyed our stay so this was not new. On arrival we checked in, our family room was very comfortable, and the central location of Portlaoise town made it an ideal location to dine out, and to explore a bit after the drive. Registration took place on Friday evening at 18.00hrs, where we meet up with the IHS staff, and checked out what’s happening. It is always a pleasure to meet the IHS team. The children have grown up with their presence in their lives due to the weekends, so they are very comfortable to chat with them. After we had eaten, we returned to the hotel to meet up with friends. This is a great opportunity to reconnect with individuals that are not normally in our locality. We have made so many connections due to our attendance at the haemophilia weekends. Our friends come from all areas of the country, so it provides a great opportunity to get together and to have a good catch up. Saturday morning was no effort to get the gang out of bed as they decided in the bedroom what they were going to eat for breakfast. Pancakes appear to be the craze for the kids at present for breakfast, as they ate with their eyes as the pancakes rolled down the machine. Breakfast is always the favourite meal on these weekends for all members of our family, mostly due to the large choice, as we all like different foods. There is much talking, waving hello to people we hadn’t seen the night previous, with a general sense of occasion about the breakfast room, much chatting and kids laughing with parents, and friends. To read more of this click here
I.H.S. December Magazine 2015
While you are relaxing after much good food and fun over the festive period why not have a read of our latest magazine?? It is packed with loads of great articles and information. Brian's CEO report is bound to burst that boredom and another great article from John Stack will have you planning for a more active 2016. There is also a report on the EHC Leadership Conference, Lorraine O'Connor's Members Conference Report and much, much more. Click here to download.
Thank You!!!
A massive thank you to all our volunteers who give up so much of their own time to help the Society in every way they can. We can never put into words how much we appreciate you and all you do for us! The Society would also like to thank all the fundraisers who fundraised for us in 2015. We really appreciate your amazing effort and funds you raised for the I.H.S. And last but not least we would like to thank everyone who made donations to the Society throughout the year. These were all greatly appreciated and will help the Society to continue to provide the essential services and supports that our members require.
Positive News
The latest edition of Positive News will be posted out to members on Monday. It is jammed packed with an update from the AASLD Liver Conference in November, Ribavirin - the unwanted phoenix and some patient's perspectives. But you don't have to wait until Monday to read it you can download it by clicking here
AGM 2016 4th to 6th March Hotel Kilkenny Preliminary Programme
Friday 4th March
6.00 p.m. – 7.30 p.m. Registration
Saturday 5th March
10.00 a.m. – 12.30 p.m. Annual General Meeting
12.30 p.m. – 1.30 p.m. Lunch
1.30 p.m. – 3.30 p.m. New Developments
3.30 p.m. – 4.00 p.m. Coffee
4.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m. Open Forum with Treatment Centres
7.15 p.m. Gala Dinner
