Author
Marion Wilkens, Alpha1 Germany eV, as published in Alpha1 Journal 2/2017.
Dear readers, Alphas and family members,
2017 was a very demanding year! We accomplished a lot for our Alpha1 world, including creating two explainer videos, two newsletters, and a new training flyer. Take a quick look back at the cover image: there you'll see our little Alpha1 family, whom you'll encounter again and again in the future. They were originally created for the first explainer video. More details on page 25.
We recently launched a location-independent and toll-free service hotline, and we are also working intensively on our website to become the "Wikipedia" for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. Details about these new features can be found in this winter issue.
One good reason for setting up the service number was my family's move from Hamburg to Gernsheim. My fellow board members took a lot of work off my hands during that time and relieved me of any burdens they could, and I'd like to express my gratitude for that. However, nobody could have foreseen that the move would take months instead of days (thankfully, otherwise we probably wouldn't have moved at all).
I definitely reached my limits, and I was often literally left breathless. Just before my optimism was about to abandon me, there was light at the end of the tunnel, and I focused more than ever on what was truly important: we had each other! The family had grown closer, and we were doing well after all.
Something I recently looked up on Wikipedia came to mind, which I'd like to quote here without the parenthetical text: Resilience, or psychological resilience, is the ability to cope with crises and use them as opportunities for growth by drawing on personal and socially mediated resources. Related to resilience are the development of health, resistance, coping strategies, and self-preservation. The opposite of resilience is vulnerability.
Yes, we climbed out of our slump and back to the surface, and we've now arrived safely in Hesse. Resilience is therefore my motto for 2018. Everyone knows what it's like to overcome a low point. Sometimes that low point is alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, and sometimes it's moving house. I sincerely wish you resilience and the ability to not let yourselves be defeated.
Have a good winter and a great start to 2018!
