From Julie: Sunday - table tennis - Aubrey - all great!

Sunday got off to a great start! As I got on the shuttle to go to the table tennis/ping pong competition, I quickly met two members from Team Upstate NY. Upon arriving at the convention center, there weren't too many Phi Sigs, but that quickly changed as the day got going.

I really enjoyed volunteering at table tennis because it allowed us to interact with the athletes and provided the opportunity for a more personal connection with athletes from many teams. I saw this happening with many of the Phi Sigs. As we touched base with one another, I kept hearing, "I met so and so from team such and such; they told me their story, and I can't believe everything they had to go through." It was really amazing.

I quickly met other members from Team Upstate and cheered them on throughout the day. One of the women who really touched me was Bonnie; I will share her story later on. On the shuttle, I met Dan and I didn't learn about Dan's story until later in the day. One of the other Phi Sigs had found out that he was the recipient of the Mickey Mantle Award in 2006 because he had endured the most to get to the games. Dan has undergone a double kidney transplant, a double bypass and suffered from thyroid cancer. Even with all of this, he was almost reluctant to tell us, as it was apparent that he was living in the moment and not looking back. He told us he has been coming to the games since 1996.

None of these athletes had a "woe is me" attitude. Instead, all cherish the gift that has been given to them. It was really incredible to see not only the camaraderie they had with their own teams and others. More than once throughout the weekend I heard what a "family" they all are.

One of the great highlights of the day was for all of the Phi Sigs to cheer on our fellow sister Aubrey from Team Indiana as she played table tennis with two other young women: one from Team Pittsburgh and the other from Team Illinois. Aubrey was a hit over the course of the weekend, not only with all of our sisters but also with the press. She made the front page of the local newspaper, was interviewed by channel 11 news and is highlighted on the U.S. Transplant Games website, which also makes mention of her Phi Sig sisters! Read the article here!


It was great to see Aubrey's enthusiasm as she sported her Phi Sig pins and wore her shirt that said "I Love Dad." I don't think any of the Phi Sigs will soon forget those they met and the personal stories they heard - but most of all they will not forget about our fellow Phi Sig sisters and their families who have had personal experiences with disease and organ transplantation.

I would also like to say "thank you" to all of our local Pittsburgh alum for preparing all of the food and hosting the Phi Sig picnic on Sunday evening. And a very special thank you to Janet Holland and her husband for graciously allowing the event to be at their home. It was an experience for all of us to make it up Janet's very steep driveway, but it just gave us one more thing to talk about over the course of the weekend.

Will be checking in again before the weekend is through.

LITP,
Julie O.
Community 4 Archon