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FIGO 97, A Week To Remember!
Hello Friends,
Well I'm back from FIGO 97 in Copenhagen and ready to tell ALL!
Wow! I hardly know where to begin. This is definitely going to be a two part story, maybe three. There's just too much to tell in one Rambling, even for a World Class Rambler like myself! To say that it was a fabulous time, in a remarkable city, with some of the most marvelous people you could ever want to meet, would still be an understatement. It was truly an adventure par excellence. The trip of a lifetime. Exciting, productive, and just high energy hard work and good fun from start to finish.
First off, if you ever get a chance to visit Denmark, jump on it! The city of Copenhagen is loaded with old world charm, and the Danish people are super friendly and full of an infectious joy for life. Everyone speaks English so communicating was effortless. The architecture of centuries gone by, juxtaposed against the vibrancy of a modern thriving metropolitan city is enchanting. Tivoli Gardens, located in the heart of the city is a delightful amusement park, entertainment center, and flower garden that has evolved over a century and a half into a unique blend of charm and wonderment with virtually something for everyone, of every age. No lover of amusement parks I (I once left Disney World after finding it too much work and too little fun), I found myself returning to Tivoli five times during our visit and would return again in a heartbeat. Being a lover of people, flowers, food, and fountains I found many opportunities during our ten day stay to feed my appetites. I would definitely recommend Copenhagen to anyone planning a trip to Europe. You won't be disappointed.
Zeneca put us up in a great old hotel called The Palace. Since we were the first to arrive we lucked out and got a room with a balcony overlooking the town square. All the delights of the city were within easy walking distance.
Arriving at the Bella Center the day before the Congress began, we made our way to the Zeneca booth. Our plan was to check out the arrangements that had been put together for us to demonstrate the Zeneca Endometriosis ZONE and OBGYN.net. I don't know exactly what I expected but what we found far exceeded our wildest dreams. I was standing in a HUGE atrium (one of three exhibit halls) asking for directions to the Zeneca booth when I suddenly looked up and saw it, a ten foot wall declaring to the world:
Surf The Internet With Zeneca and OBGYN.net
My heart truly skipped a beat. We had ARRIVED! We were really at FIGO 97 OBGYN.net was going to be presented by Dr. Van der Slikke in the auditorium on Tuesday. Thoughts and memories of everyone and everything that had contributed to bringing us to this moment swam through my head.
It has been a long year and a half since the first nebulous conversations in my kitchen about the idea of building an Internet site for Obstetrics and Gynecology called OBGYN.net. As you all know by now, there had been many days we didn't know if we would be able to realize the dream. The web site and the community grew faster than our financial abilities to keep up with it ever did. But we always BELIEVED. The reason was because of the PEOPLE. All of you kept us going, by volunteering your time and energy, by always believing in us and in OBGYN.net. Being at FIGO with a real company, Zeneca that believed in us too, was a victory for us all. Looking up and seeing OBGYN.net emblazoned on that wall was the moment of validation. YES, we had made it. But then the moment passed, no time to waste being sentimental. We had work to do!
Doctors Hans van der Slikke and Mark Perloe were due to arrive at any time. The Congress would be starting at 2:00 the next day (Sunday), and we still had the full six days of demonstrating OBGYN.net ahead of us. I wondered if we would be well received. Would we be an asset to Zeneca's booth? Would we be as popular with international doctors as we had been at ACOG with Americans? That night we got word that Hans and his family had arrived. But Mark was missing. I was worried. Where could he be? I went to bed with my mind racing in anticipation of the next day.
Sunday morning while having breakfast with Bruce in the hotel we got word that yes, Dr. Perloe had finally checked in and would be joining us in the restaurant. Now I must interject that Mark Perloe, who I had never met before in person, had always intimidated me a little bit. He's just so damn smart and talented, suave and handsome. Mark was running Atlanta Reproductive Health Centre and IVF.com when the only thing I knew about Obstetrics and Gynecology was how to position myself in the stirrups!
Enter Dr. Perloe… looking a little travel worn to say the least! It turned out that Mark's escape from Atlanta to Copenhagen had been fraught with more comical twists that a skit from Saturday Night Live. He proceeded to regale us with an absolutely hysterical story of one disaster after another. First he couldn't leave on Friday because a cargo plane had crashed at Newark Airport (remarkably no one was killed). In fact, the debris from the crash was still smoldering on the runway on Saturday when he finally was able to catch a flight (just the kind of thing that really psychs you up for international travel!). Then he discovered he had lost his briefcase in Newark (never to be seen again). And so it went. But he had made it. He was sitting at our table, and it was like being reunited with an old friend. I instantly lost all my insecurities about being with the good doctor. I had my flight canceled too. I had lost my cell phone on the plane…I could keep up with this guy! Yes, as the week wore on he was brilliant and smart, talented and handsome. But, he was also kind and funny, hardworking and totally committed to giving his all to The Endo ZONE and OBGYN.net. That is what really got hammered home to me over and over again during the week. What makes OBGYN.net so great is the PEOPLE.
Bruce left early for the Bella Center to check on our connectivity. Mark and I were scheduled to arrive at 1:00, in plenty of time to be ready for what we all predicted to be a slow first day. At 11:00 the phone rang in my room. It was Bruce. "Get Mark, grab a cab, and get down here", he said. The attendees were prematurely swarming the gate, and making a beeline for the Zeneca booth and OBGYN.net!
Next week Part II of Copenhagen, A Week To Remember!
Roberta
If you have any interesting news, ideas, or questions you would like to share please drop me a line at roberta.speyer@obgyn.net.
8/14/97
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