On Sunday, February 20th, the Myocarditis Foundation held an Educational Event to raise awareness for Myocarditis. Local businesses and philanthropists supported the event at Kingwood Country Club for 75 local community members.
Gary Kubera, Chairman of the Houston Chapter, spoke on where the Foundation has been, where we are now, and where we are looking to be so that we can put a halt to this dread disease that often insidiously attacks people of all ages, but mainly children and young adults.
Genevieve Rumore, a RN and Executive Director of the Foundation, spoke on the Foundation’s Mission, of Education, Funding Research specific to Myocarditis, and Emotionally Supporting those affected by the disease, with the Goal of “saving lives”. The Foundation office in Kingwood, which is a suburb of Houston, receives and answers emails and calls from around the world 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. She reported that over 100,000 people visit the website www.myocarditisfoundation.org a month, with most being new visitors seeking information on the disease. She encouraged the attendees to pay attention to all chest pain, palpitations, and shortness of breath, and have them medically evaluated. Ask, “Could this be Myocarditis?” of your doctors if you have continued or worsening of “viral type symptoms”. Advocating for yourself and your loved ones is extremely important in the early diagnosis of the disease.
Dr. Leslie Cooper, Adult Medical Director and Co-founder of the Myocarditis Foundation, along with Dr. Jack Price, our Pediatric Medical Director, spoke on Myocarditis and COVID Myocarditis.
A 21-year-old survivor, and his mom, told his amazing story of how he collapsed on the football field, was defibrillated, given CPR, and had a 1% chance of survival, when initially diagnosed in 2016 with Giant Cell Myocarditis. Because of the school staff’s immediate reaction and care, and the knowledge and treatment by the doctors once hospitalized, he was here today to share his amazing story.
The afternoon ended with many happy winners going home with the 18 Silent Auction baskets, that helped raise funds to support the Foundation, thanks to the generosity of local businesses.
The Myocarditis Foundation sincerely thanks all those who help support this event and allowed us the ability to raise awareness and educate people and Emergency Room nurses on Myocarditis. A special thank you to the Kingwood Country Club and its workers who did a stellar job and even donated their tips to help the Myocarditis Foundation.
