After
all the troubles I finally got my visa a day before my flight to Paris was due.
For two months I had only been dreaming about attending the World Federation of
Hemophilia congress, 2012. Fortunately, I was given an opportunity to do a
poster presentation at the congress. My mum also accompanied me for the
congress and I was happy that both of us would experience a nice time in Paris.
I
didn’t know what things to keep in my luggage due to the excitement of going to
Paris for the World congress. Guess what? I forgot to carry my woolens. The
moment I landed in Paris, I was shivering due to cold waves. Being an Indian,
Paris seemed to be colder for me. Somehow I managed.
After
checking out from the airport I had to find my way to my hotel. It wasn’t difficult
as French nationals really helped me at every step. There was a pretty woman
was watching me as I was in confused state. She came to me and told me how to
get tickets for the metro train. I thanked her and got my tickets.
Then
I asked for metro platform directions from a dad of two beautiful kids. He was
so helpful and kind to me. We boarded the same train and chitchat for a minute
or two. My mum asked me to take permission from the kids’ dad as she wanted to
get herself photographed with those cute and innocent kids. I really liked
those kids as they were disciplined and shy.
Finally we got down at Chattele.
From there we had to take another train in order to reach our hotel. At the
Chattele station we met an old French man who made sure that we boarded the
appropriate train. He sat behind us in the train and informed us to get down at
La Defense. I thanked him and moved on to find the way to our hotel.
As
we walked towards the exit of the La Defense metro station I asked a young man
to guide us towards hotel IBIS. He not only gave us the directions but also
lifted our luggage and dropped it at the exit door. I think he was going for
work but I was so impressed when he stopped and helped us generously.
Finally
we checked in our hotel. I and my mum got fresh and ate Matthi and Gur pare
which we got with us from our country. Then we went to hotel Novotel to find
out whether Cheryl D’Ambrosio had checked in there or not. The receptionist was
so kind that he showed the list of World congress delegates which were suppose
to check in at Novotel. Unfortunately I didn’t find Cheryl’s name in that list.
With a sad face I came back to my hotel. My mum got busy with arranging our
luggage in the room while I fell asleep. After arranging the luggage my mum
also slept as she was also exhausted and tired. We had a wonderful sleep. Suddenly
we heard door knocking. The moment I opened the door there was no one. I
thought someone would have knocked our door by mistake. Surprisingly I got a
call from Cheryl and she told me that she was knocking our door but we didn’t
open it. At that moment I got to know that Cheryl was staying in our hotel and
I was not even aware of it. I got to know about Cheryl in 2009 when she was
thinking of hosting an International creative arts contest for girls and women
with bleeding disorders. One of my writings was referred to Cheryl by Laurie
Kelley. I was fortunate to be the first contestant of the creative arts
contest. After that Cheryl established MyGirlsBlood and I got associated with
it. I am glad to be part of MyGirlsBlood as it was Cheryl was motivated me to
present my work at the World congress.
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| Reception area of Hotel IBIS |
It
was a magical moment when I saw Cheryl. She hugged me and we felt extremely
emotional. We had been sending emails, exchanging ideas and planning activities
for MyGirlsBlood together for a long time but never met each other in person. I
am at loss of words to describe that moment. Then Cheryl met my mum and both of
them hugged each other. I made sure that Cheryl felt comfortable and talked for
an hour or so. It was Cheryl who invited me and my mum for dinner and took us
to see Eiffel tower and other famous monuments with her. We took photos and
discussed how women with bleeding disorders can get benefited and empowered.
Three of us came back to our hotel and decided to meet at 11:30 AM so that we
could go together to attend the congress.
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| Visit to Eiffel tower with Cheryl |
On the first day I met my old and close friends from the hemophilia community. I was fortunate to meet Shirin from Iran. She came with her husband and it was really nice to meet both of them.
Cheryl introduced me to Patrice and all of us
hanged out together at the grocery store on level 0 of the congress venue.
Patrice is a charming woman who has charisma in her smile. She is doing a great
job for women with bleeding disorders in the United States.
At
the opening ceremony I finally met my dearest friend Laurie. It was the second
time to meet her in person. Laurie told me that she adored my Labrador puppy
‘Oriana’ so much. She met my mum and was really happy to see us there. It was
such a great moment for me to be with the most important ladies of my life – my
mum, Laurie and Cheryl. They have always been my strength during tough times. I
owe my success, happiness and life to these women.
It was a moment of pride for MyGirlsBlood when Cheryl gave a
presentation on Patients and family blogs. She stole my heart away. Her
presentation was really impressive and made an impact on the audiences.
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| Cheryl giving her presentation |
After Cheryl’s presentation we went to a nearby restaurant with our new
friend Wendy. I must tell you that Wendy is a real sweetheart and she calls me
Miss. Anorexic. She is a great person and a kid at heart. It was nice to hang
out with her.
As
days passed I learned a lot from the hemophilia leaders, researchers and
experienced delegates at the congress. I did make new friends and exchanged
ideas for making life better for women with bleeding disorders. I met a team of
people from Japan and I was really impressed by their poster. I got an email
from one of the team members and it is great to share ideas for making our
hemophilia community stronger around the globe.
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| Painting by a French painter at the opening ceremony of the World Congress, 2012 |
I
will always cherish all these wonderful and special memories which Paris gifted
me. All I want to say is ‘Merci France’.
