I can't believe it's already time for APFED! I've been waiting for this all year.
For the uninitiated, APFED stands for American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders. Every year, they host a Patient Education Conference on Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders. Last year, the Conference was in San Diego, and we just couldn't swing the trip. But this year - luckily enough - it's right here in Philly. So off we go to the 11th Annual EosConnection Conference!
Tomorrow's sessions are pretty light - the meat of the Conference is really on Saturday, but I'm still really looking forward to it. After a basic New Attendee Welcome, we'll have Tube Feeding Basics, Cooking Solutions for a Restricted Diet (not super applicable right now, but we're still working on the hope that someday, somehow, this boy will eat!), and a Social Mixer.
Tube Feeding Basics will be interesting - we are not new to tubes by any means, but I would love to meet other local tubie families, and I'll totally take any chance I get to learn tips/tricks/lifehacks from other tubies.
The Cooking Solutions session should be pretty cool too - although I confess that I hope this is offered again at future conferences and we're able to go in future years, because it's almost impossible for me to imagine a day that I'll be cooking for Aidan again. It's been almost two years since he's eaten like a "normal" child - but we'll get there, and I hope that something I learn tomorrow will help make it just a little bit easier when that day comes.
I'm really nervous about the Social Mixer. I'm not Social. I don't Mix. Honestly, I'm not sure how it's going to go. But this is why we're going - to meet, to mingle, to learn, to share, and to understand that we aren't alone. Aidan's not alone.
Wish me luck that the half day I'm taking at work actually works out that way, or I'll miss all these awesome sessions entirely. And while we're off to APFED, you can visit their website and learn a little bit too :)
For the uninitiated, APFED stands for American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders. Every year, they host a Patient Education Conference on Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders. Last year, the Conference was in San Diego, and we just couldn't swing the trip. But this year - luckily enough - it's right here in Philly. So off we go to the 11th Annual EosConnection Conference!
Tomorrow's sessions are pretty light - the meat of the Conference is really on Saturday, but I'm still really looking forward to it. After a basic New Attendee Welcome, we'll have Tube Feeding Basics, Cooking Solutions for a Restricted Diet (not super applicable right now, but we're still working on the hope that someday, somehow, this boy will eat!), and a Social Mixer.
Tube Feeding Basics will be interesting - we are not new to tubes by any means, but I would love to meet other local tubie families, and I'll totally take any chance I get to learn tips/tricks/lifehacks from other tubies.
The Cooking Solutions session should be pretty cool too - although I confess that I hope this is offered again at future conferences and we're able to go in future years, because it's almost impossible for me to imagine a day that I'll be cooking for Aidan again. It's been almost two years since he's eaten like a "normal" child - but we'll get there, and I hope that something I learn tomorrow will help make it just a little bit easier when that day comes.
I'm really nervous about the Social Mixer. I'm not Social. I don't Mix. Honestly, I'm not sure how it's going to go. But this is why we're going - to meet, to mingle, to learn, to share, and to understand that we aren't alone. Aidan's not alone.
Wish me luck that the half day I'm taking at work actually works out that way, or I'll miss all these awesome sessions entirely. And while we're off to APFED, you can visit their website and learn a little bit too :)
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