August 10, 2024 • 30 mins
Dr. Paul Gerson is the founder of The Periwinkle Foundation (he was also in the air force) and Ann Massey is their Development Director.
The Periwinkle Foundation was founded to provide children at Texas Children's Hospital with the opportunity to "just feel normal" for one week at Camp Periwinkle. They also offer tons of programs to help children and their families get through the harsh cancer treatments such as art fairs and entertainment performed by local arts organizations.
They are also behind the Iron Sommelier event on November 7th where guests can taste wines, dine, be merry and raise funds for the summer camp.
Go to www.periwinklefoundation.org to get tickets and info on this extraordinary Org.
The Periwinkle Foundation was founded to provide children at Texas Children's Hospital with the opportunity to "just feel normal" for one week at Camp Periwinkle. They also offer tons of programs to help children and their families get through the harsh cancer treatments such as art fairs and entertainment performed by local arts organizations.
They are also behind the Iron Sommelier event on November 7th where guests can taste wines, dine, be merry and raise funds for the summer camp.
Go to www.periwinklefoundation.org to get tickets and info on this extraordinary Org.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to Houston, PA. Houston's public affairs show and iHeartMedia Broadcast.
I Rotis Lamer says that the opinions express on this
show do not necessarily reflect those hell by this radio station,
its management staff, or any of its advertisers. My name
is Laurent I am the Texan from France, and my
(00:27):
guests today are from the Perry Wrinkle Foundation, probably one
of the most extraordinary nonprofits in Houston. I guess among
many I tend to find myself saying that this is
an extraordinary nonprofit organization from Houston, because we're really rich
in philanthropy in this town. It's a wonderful place to
be generous because you have a plethora of choices of
(00:47):
people that you can help, which means by what I
mean by that is that everybody can get some help
from these nonprofit organizations, especially the ones that are independent
from the government, the ones that have to pinch their pennies.
They're the ones who make their services go the furthest
and we've had some great success because we take talent
from the great business side of our town and the
(01:08):
compassionate side of our town, and it's something that isn't
talked a lot, very much, but women have led the
way in forming a lot of the nonprofit organizations in Houston,
and they're a large part of the reason why we're
so successful. But it's a man who founded the Periwinkle
Foundation and he is here. His name is doctor Paul Gerson.
(01:28):
He is the founder of Periwinkle Foundation. He was also
in the Air Force before he became a physician. And
with him is Anne Massey. She is their development director.
Paul is good to see you again. You just came
back from Camp Periwinkle, which is well, it's a perfect
way to describe what your organization does.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
It is Indeed, we were at camp the week before last.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Is that right? Yeah, Well, in the radio time it
matters a little less.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
The fact is that there were approximate late one hundred
and thirty children there for the week, and everybody had
a great time, and if they weren't having a good time,
we would find another way to deal with it. But
everybody did find nobody died, and we couldn't believe how
wonderful the whole thing was. That was actually Camp number
(02:18):
forty one for us.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
So these camps are very special because the campers are
very special, absolutely, and that's really the reasondet. The reason
why Periwinkle the Periwinkle Foundation exists is to help kids
living with cancer and their families have a bit of
normalcy in their lives. If you know a kid with cancer,
what they go through is absolutely horrifying, because that's what
(02:41):
happens to everybody who goes through fighting cancer. But it's
especially cruel when children are affected by it because one
of the things that it robs them of is a
large portion of their childhood and something that you don't
necessarily think about, but these are kids who very often
can't go to school at all for several years, and
(03:01):
so they miss out on a large chunk of their childhood,
which seems particularly cruel. And you founded the Periwinkle Foundation
to return some of that normalcy to their lives and
give them a taste of a normal childhood. So Camp
Periwinkle is a special place, not only because of its campers,
but it's also the facility that you've created. It's not
(03:24):
a normal camp. You have all the activities you would
expect at a children's camp, but you also have medical
facilities and physicians and nurses on staff, right correct, So
you should describe that because it feels like this is
just it must have been a daunting task to create
this from scratch. Nothing like this existed before you came along, right,
(03:45):
that's true.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But in a way you've explained why it was daunting
but successful because Houston is a very wealthy and very
generous city. That's what you said earlier. And the fact
is that when we were getting ready to do this
and we created the foundation of the Periwinkle Foundation, we
(04:08):
were able to begin. It was smaller at the time,
but there was not that much trouble scraping together finding
the money to put it on, and once we were
able to do a few successful camps, it became easier
and easier to get the money. It's not to say
that it's easy at all now, but fortunately we live
(04:30):
in a very, very generous and well to do place.
So that's it.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
We have one of the best medical communities in the world.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
No, we have the the medical center in the world.
It's certainly the largest, and in fact, the Texas Medical
Center is the largest employer in the city.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, so you don't have any you're not wanting for volunteers.
You're able to harness some of those.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Just like money, you have to go out and find them,
and you have to work at it, and you have
to help that you find the ones that you really want.
It's a continuous business. It's a continuous job to get
the money to do the camp, to find the volunteers
to be there, and so forth, and it's a constant
and continuous thing that goes on and on and on.
It has been for forty years.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Our listeners can go to Periwinkle Foundation dot org Periwinkle
Foundation dot org to follow along and see some information.
You'll see some pictures of the clients, these little kids
that are having a great time at the camps, and
the various events that they have to raise funds because obviously,
(05:35):
if you think children's camps are expensive, and that's part
of the truth of them, it's expensive. Well, you know,
it's a resort and you're sending your kid to this resort,
so of course they've got to be fed and housed,
and there's all the activities and the counselors. So on
top of all of that, there's the medical aspect of
Camp Periwinkle. And they have two awesome events there. I
(05:56):
guess they're they're trademark events. That they do every year
to raise funds. Iron so milier or Iron sommelier, as
they would say in English, we say so milier in French.
The solier is the god of wine in a restaurant.
He is the gentleman in a fine restaurant who will
come around. They often have a special little lapple, a
special medallion on their lapple that identifies them as a somlier,
(06:20):
and they're the wine specialists. It's a French tradition. It's
a good tradition. Wine is a wonderful, wonderful human invention
from the grape. Did you know that grapes have DNA
that is almost as complex as humanities. It's it's one
of those really interesting things. The grape is an extraordinary plant,
and the so milier is the one who knows about
all the regions and what kind of grapes goes in.
(06:42):
So you can ask what kind of wine you'd like
to drink of this gentleman, of this lady, and they'll
be able to suggest from the restaurant's availability, and they'll
go down the cellar, at least in Francis, the cellar
very often and they'll bring back the bottle of wine.
So they do this competition every year and this year
is going to be on November seventh'd ask you. And
since you're the development director, she's in charge of getting
(07:03):
all the money into the organization. That's with the development
the base. But the Iron so Milier event is a
competition of all these brilliant wine savants, correct.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah, have thirteen male and female sammers in Houston that
compete for the title of Iron so Mayer. So it's
a competitive wine tasting and presentation. They're able to put
together their own flights to force celebrity judges to make
the final call for Iron Somier, and then guests of
(07:37):
the event are able to vote for people's choice.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Yeah, it's a very democratic wine tasting event. And it's
held in a hotel too, very reasonably. Yes, it's all
just reasons.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Yes, it's at the Posto Hotel in the Galleria area,
and we're very lucky to have found them to be
a great partner for us for the past several years.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
So you dress up the room, you bring in all
these brilliant wins and people that are scholars really in
this culture, and they design a menu and of course
there's food obviously, Yes, there's a really nice you cater
a bunch of food.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yes, we have an incredible selection of wine, spirits and
experiences in our Silent Auction, which is available to anyone.
You do not have to attend the event in order
to participate. It's one of the better wine auctions I
have ever seen, and I've seen plenty. Of course I'm
little biased, that's okay, but it's an amazing experience. And
(08:30):
we also have children's art available as well for purchase,
because another one of our missions is to promote Periwinkle
Arts and Medicine at the hospital, and this is art
that the children have created throughout their cancer journey.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
So the Iron Somlier event is going to be on
November seventh. What is this program about the arts and
medicine that you do in the hospitals?
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Periwinkle Arts and Medicine is programming that we provide that
give children and their patients and their siblings a creative
outlet to express themselves during their cancer journey or watching
their sibling go through cancer treatment. And they're able to paint,
they're able to draw, if it's creative writing. We have
community partners that assist us with writing as well. Performing
(09:16):
arts entertain the children in the hospital. It's just a
really great way for children, especially those that cannot go
to camp or they're stuck in the hospital doing treatment.
It's a way to be entertained and to get their
mind off the journey that they're currently on.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Are y'all using video games a little bit? Now?
Speaker 3 (09:34):
No, we're not.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
I know that the hospitals themselves, they obviously have several
programs going right at the same time, So folks don't
be alarm. I just I have a friend whose son
is fighting cancer. He has leukemia, and he just finished
his toughest year of chemotherapy where he had to be
in the hospital a lot. So he's back home a
lot more now and they're doing the oral chemo and
(09:57):
things are looking good. He uses video games as a
way to literally lifts himself out of some of the
physical and mental misery that comes along with fighting cancer.
And uh, they're you know, we we know that some
video games are very bad for your brain, but we're
talking about stuff like Fortnite and strategy games that are
(10:21):
goofy fun for kids, and they're not they're not encouraging
bad behavior. But what I think is extraordinary is that
all of these programs, whether it's the artistic organizations like
the Houston Ballet is sending in some ballerinas, some dancers
to perform for the kids and just hang around. It
takes some pictures. Uh, it's it's it's like a mental
vacation for the kids, and it is important for them
(10:44):
to have this as a part of their treatment because
how you feel in your head affects how you feel
in your body. We know that mind over matter is
a real thing, and all of all of these, all
of these measures, all of these tools that we have
at our disp position or very useful. So you can
go to Periwinkle Foundation dot org to find out how
(11:06):
you can participate. And like I say, you know, we're
a community, which means that no donation is too small.
You may not be able to give five thousand dollars
to an organization, but if you can give five dollars, well,
we're thousands of us who can give five dollars and
that makes a difference. You can send some kids to camp.
You are listening to Houston, PA Houston's Public Affairs Show.
(11:26):
My name is Laurent. My guests are here from the
Periwinkle Foundation. Anne Massey is their development director and doctor
Paul Gerson is their founder. He founded the Periwinkle Foundation.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
In what year, Paul, nineteen eighty three.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Nueteen eighty three. You should this is one of my
favorite stories. You should tell us just briefly.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Why origin story?
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yeah, is the superhero origin story? Exactly?
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Well, it all began. Actually I was a doctor in
the Air Force, and when I got out, I went
directly to M D Anderson from my radiology training. And
when I was at M d Anderson, I was occasionally
I went up to the children's floor at the time,
and at that time I also had three small sons
(12:15):
of my own, and I was appalled at what it
was like up there. Mind you, this was between nineteen
seventy I started there in nineteen sixty eight. From nineteen
seventy two. At that time, To give you an idea
of what was going on, the survival of children with leukemia,
which is the most common cancer in childhood, was weighed
(12:38):
less than five percent. In other words, it was a
death sentence. And I could understand that we didn't have
the answer in treating cancer at that time, but I
expected one day we would. But what I couldn't understand
is why there were no amenities on that children's floor.
It was a barren hallway with beige floors in bay walls,
(13:00):
not even a private room where a parent could go
and cry. And I thought, this is terrible. We have
to be able to do better than this, we being
the medical world. And that thought stayed with me, and
after my time at M. D. Anderson, I went directly
to Texas Children's and it was the same thing there
(13:23):
and a children's hospital, there were a barren hallways and
not very much amenity, and that's the way things were
at that time. And it took a while, but finally
one day my mother called me and said that there
had been a camp created in New York, funded by
Paul Newman, called the camp called the hole in the
Wall in the Wall camp. That's exactly right. And I said, well,
(13:46):
if they can do it, we can do it. And
I went directly to doctor Fernbach, who was the chief
of the cancer situation at Texas Children's and I told
him that there had been a camp created in New
York and we had to do it ourselves. He said, well,
he was busy. They were getting ready to create the
Ronald McDonald house, and he was tied up with that.
(14:07):
And I said, well, then will you give me permission
to recruit from your staff and your patients and start
a camp And he said yes. I said, so, okay,
then I will. And that was nineteen eighty three. So
I had been at Texas Children's for about ten years
and I had enough credibility that I could go around
the hospital and actually create and recruit, and I got
(14:30):
people together and we created a five oh one c
three foundation. We ultimately named it the Periwinkle Foundation because
from the Periwinkle found flower came the first reasonably effective
drug to treat leukemia. Amazingly, and so we had our
first camp in nineteen eighty four. About thirty children came
(14:53):
that summer and it was successful. It was wonderful. We
figured it out, and in fact, it was an Olympic
year that year. We took a day Wednesday to have
our own Olympics. And we still do an Olympic Day
every Wednesday. Yeah, yes, we still do the Olympics because
of that original coincidence that we did our camp during
an Olympic year. But the fact is is that the
(15:16):
camp worked, It was successful, the children loved it. It
was it was a revolutionary thing in the lives of
those children and in the in the process of Texas
Children's Hospital. And now at this point, goodness knows not
just the cancer kids, but the other patients of Texas
Children's Hospital. Many many, many of them are parts of
(15:39):
other camps for other purposes and other kinds of diseases.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
You have this camp in Brenham, and it's a it's
a it's kind of a special place. You have a
you have an association with them, right, correct, They explain
to us how that works. All right.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
So there's a place in just west of Brenham, near
the little town of Burton, and on two hundred acres
have been built a special camp which is called barrier free.
It means that there is no thing on that camp
that can't be done by any child, including children who
are in wheelchairs. And it's a perfect place, and it's
(16:18):
open year round, and many, many, many other camps besides
the Periwinkle Foundation utilize that location, utilize that facility. And
each year I happen to know that somewhere between ten
and twelve thousand children campers a year. Excuse me, or
(16:39):
go to camp for all for some period of time.
Periwinkle lasts week but the Periwinkle Foundation has several other
camps that are long weekends that are utilized there too,
and it's open year round. And I happen to know
that whereas we started Camp for All with sixteen partners
(17:04):
that utilize the camp, at this point there are sixty
four organizations that utilize Camp for All, So you're their
special purpose.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
And so you were able to inspire a sort of
tidal wave of development.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I would say that's true. And I think that Camp
Periwinkle or the Periwinkle Foundation was sort of a model
that a lot of other organizations, including the Aides Foundation
and the Muscular Dystrophee and so forth, utilize as a
model to create their own camp for their particular children.
And in fact, the Periwinkles initially were very generous to
(17:43):
go out and try to explain to and try to
train the other organizations that would take their children there.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Shout out to Paul Newman's company, Newman's own you sometimes.
You probably have seen them in the grocery store. They
used the sauce they started with salad dressings. That's what
Paul Newman and his friend Hochner I forget his first name,
and they were the writer whose last name is Hawchner.
They were making vinaigrette in his basement and it was
(18:13):
so good they were giving them away as Christmas gifts
for their friends. They said, we should market this stuff
and sell it in grocery stores, and they expanded into
tomato sauces. They also brought in the first tomato sauces
that had chunks in them, because they didn't want purets
and powders. They wanted something natural, and the manufacturers resisted
until they found one factory that said, fine, we'll chop
(18:36):
up some tomatoes for you. And that was so good
that it popularized that sort of chunky sauce that we find.
But the whole point was that all of the money
from the Newman's own sales go to charity. And one
of the things they do is fun the Hole in
the Wall gang. I don't it's called Hole in the
Wall Camp and they might have changed the name of it.
I'm blanking on it, but of course that's a reference
(18:57):
to Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid, the wonderful
film from the late sixties with Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
They played Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid, the
famous Outlaws, and the gang in the film is called
The Hole in the Wall Gang, so to see. If
you haven't seen that movie, you really should look into it.
But most importantly, go buy some newman's own. The profit
(19:19):
they make from it literally go to good stuff. And
as a French guy, I'll endorse our product as being
the best tomato sauce pasta sauces you can find on
the shelves. You might have a preference for another, that's fine,
but it's really high quality stuff. You are listening to Houston, PA,
Houston's Public Affairs Show. My name is Laurent and my
guests are here from the Perry Winkle Foundation and Massey
(19:42):
is their development director and doctor Paul Gerson is the
founder of the Peri Weekel Foundation. I mean he was
an Air Force doctor. There. We mentioned that they're having
the Iron Soumelier event on November seventh that will be
available to you if you just go to Perry Winkle
Foundation Perrywinklefoundation dot org you'll find way you can sign
(20:05):
up and participate in this event. It's a really cool event.
If you like to taste wine and eat great food.
But and you're also doing an event on September twelfth
called Iron Bartender. Yes, so there's a theme here. We're
having a good time and we like irony. Well, well,
you can explain how that works actually, because obviously the
(20:27):
Camp Periwinkle is about having a good time. But these
kids are made of iron in a way. Their their
strength of character and their and their will to live
is absolutely inspiring. And it's the same thing with the
family that has to go through this. It really it
makes them stronger. Unfortunately will no fortunately what happens to
them that makes them stronger. So tell us about our bartender.
(20:48):
I suppose it's a bartender competition.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Pudging, Yes, yes, so Iron Bartender. We started the competition
with several bars and locations in Houston and for the
month of June there was a competition for the Periwinkle
Cocktail and bartenders we're able to express their creativity with
their livation of choice and a dollar of each cocktail
(21:13):
benefited the Periwinkle Foundation. We had judges that judged all
of the cocktails and the top five bartenders are competing
for the title of Iron Bartender, and that will be
on September twelfth. They will be showcasing their Periwinkle Cocktail
for guests. So we have judges that will give the
(21:36):
award for Iron Bartender, and guests of the event are
able to vote for people's choice.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
So and actually try the cocktails. Yes, so all of
these donations obviously go to the Periwinkle Foundation. Don't you
have a wine specially made for you sometimes?
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Yes, our friends from Nice Winery have a Periwinkle Wine winery.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
We're very grateful for their partnership, which has been going
on for many years. They select a piece of art
that was created by one of our patients in the hospital,
and that is the label for the wine. It's a
limited release and proceeds of the sale of the special
wine benefit the Periwinkle Foundation, and we're very grateful for
(22:20):
their loyal partnership with us.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
How else do you get money? Do you get grants
from the government? Do you get any tax dollars?
Speaker 3 (22:25):
We have grants through public excuse me, through private foundations
and individual contributions, corporate contributions.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
None of those tax dollars. That's all private money, correct, Yeah,
so you don't you don't get any of our tax dollars.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
No, we're tax exempt.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Well yeah, well that's good. And obviously if you make
a donation to the Periwinkle Foundation, that's also taxes exempt.
But I guess I'll just throw the idea idea that
that maybe some of our tax dollars that are being
wasted in stupid areas could be used to help create
another camp and to span the services that you all
put out. But you know, in the meantime, folks, you
(23:05):
can go to Periwinkle Foundation dot org, Periwinkle Foundation dot
org and just participate yourselves. Donate five dollars, donate what
you can. It all makes a difference, commutatively speaking. And
when you said you were in a more commercial area
of profession before you joined Periwinkle, what was it like
(23:25):
for you when you first became in contact and you
met some of these kids and their siblings and their
parents that are fighting cancer.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
Well, it was not a hard sell for me to
become involved with Periwinkle. I was in the hospitality industry
for twenty eight years and I actually handled the Periwinkle Gala,
Oh yeah, which is every other year at a hotel
that's located in the Galleria.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
And after you can name it, It's okay.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Royal Sinesta, there you go and come. And after hosting
one of their galas, I was invited to visitors Day
at camp and my friends at Periwinkle had no idea
that I was a lifelong camper camp counselor in the
Hill Country. I did my internship for college in the
kitchen of a summer camp in the Hill Country. It's
(24:09):
just something my family we always did. And I mean
I was I was hooked. I mean, once I went
to visitors Day, I could you know, I have an
emotional connection to camp And I was like, well, sign
me up, whatever you need. Continued to do their gala,
and then during COVID hospitality industry and it was pretty decimated.
(24:30):
There's no way to sugarcoat it, and most of us
were looking for other means of employment. And about a
year or so later, I had been advised to really
look outside of the industry and someone who is now
my colleague was going to be a reference for me
for a nonprofit job. And she goes, wait, I've gone
part time, Come on in and I interviewed and the
(24:54):
rest is history.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
You just got here. Recently, very recently, this is my.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Third camp as a as a periwinkle. Yes, that's a word.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
How do you describe it to people who who it's
hard to imagine? The joy and the resilience that you
see that it's inspiring is the only one that comes
to mind. But of course we associate cancer with danger
and incredible hardship. But as Paul described in previous interviews,
there's an incredible amount of love and joy in all
(25:27):
of this and it's hard to it's hard to describe,
and I think it might be even hard to relate
to until you actually experience it.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Am I right about that joy is a perfect word
to describe it. And whether it's the week long camps,
our weekend camps, or watching children create art in the hospital,
or spending time with our long term survivors throughout the year,
which really have long term survivors have really paid a
price to be with to still be with us, and
(25:58):
we provide so much, yes, in an environment that provides
them so much. No, they can't hang out with friends
when they're going through their journey. There might be different
protocols involved to keep them safe and what we're able
to provide it's like how high can you jump? What
else can we do for you, and they come out
(26:20):
of the experience. We come out better people because we've
been able to experience it with them. They come out stronger,
ready to take on the rest of their journey with
a vengeance and with new friends.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
Paul, you mentioned that when you started in the late seventies,
we're in the early seventies, the survival rape for kids
with leukemia was around five percent or less. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Do you know what it is now?
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Over ninety percent, which gives you a good idea of
the progress that's been made in the treatment of cancer.
Right now we have children we call long term survivors.
There was no such thing as that nineteen eighty three,
eighty four when we first started, when we were having
camps back in the early eighties, it was easy to
(27:07):
know when we were at camp who was not going
to be back the next year. And that doesn't happen anymore.
It's not like that. And what Anne said, which is
maybe the most operative word, is joy. Everybody is so
happy to be there. Thank God, at last, we're at
Camp Periwinkle and the children. One of my favorite things
(27:29):
to do there is just to stand back and watch
the children when it's lunchtime and just watch what they're doing.
Just see them be children, sitting at these big round
tables that we have, talking to one another, wearing the
T shirts and so forth and so on. And I
just love it. And there's this wonderful Yiddish word that's fell.
(27:52):
It just means to be absolutely blown away with wonderful,
wonderful pleasure. And I just stand there, as my grandmother
would say, and quail watching these children be children.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
She's probably pretty happy and then proud of you. It's
worth mentioning that one of the reasons we've transformed the
survival rate of leukema from five percent to ninety percent
and getting better is because people have made five dollars
donations to organizations that do their research. It's an example
of how powerful even small donations are. It's really worth it,
(28:28):
and especially if you're fortunate, My goodness, I hope you're
spending some of your money on nonprofit organizations. There's so
many worthy calls, but you can go to Periwinkle Foundation
dot org, Periwinko Foundation dot org to tap into that biosphere,
so to speak, and get to know a little bit
of these organizations and what they do. I suspect that
(28:53):
it's a matter of time before we can say that
the childhood leukemia is a little bit like HIV and
A people might still contract the disease, but it will
not even be a deaf sentence. It will be an inconvenience.
We will have treatments.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
I hope it's certainly. I hope too. I was part
of the hospital world during the time of the AIDS epandemic,
that's right, and I never would have believed that we
would ultimately turn that into a chronic disease to take pills.
That's really true, and God willing, we will continue to
(29:34):
make progress. And one of the things we always say
about the Children's Cancer Center is please put us out
of business.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Yeah, yeah, that's right. Well, you'll find something else to cure,
for sure, But it's all about trying to put these
people out of business ultimately, which is kind of a
weird way to look at it. Folks. I want you
to know that if you need to send me a
question you want to you have any questions related to Houston, PA,
you can just send me an email Texan from France
(30:04):
at gmail dot com. I can just send you the
link to the organizations that put on the show like
Perrywinkle Foundation dot org. I'm happy to communicate with you
and I want to thank you for listening and caring
about the issues I put on this show. My name
is Laurent I am the Texan from France and this
has been Houston, PA, Houston's public affairs show, Houston Strong.
Welcome to Houston, PA. Houston's public affairs show and iHeartMedia Broadcast.
I Rotis Lamer says that the opinions express on this
show do not necessarily reflect those hell by this radio station,
its management staff, or any of its advertisers. My name
is Laurent I am the Texan from France, and my
(00:27):
guests today are from the Perry Wrinkle Foundation, probably one
of the most extraordinary nonprofits in Houston. I guess among
many I tend to find myself saying that this is
an extraordinary nonprofit organization from Houston, because we're really rich
in philanthropy in this town. It's a wonderful place to
be generous because you have a plethora of choices of
(00:47):
people that you can help, which means by what I
mean by that is that everybody can get some help
from these nonprofit organizations, especially the ones that are independent
from the government, the ones that have to pinch their pennies.
They're the ones who make their services go the furthest
and we've had some great success because we take talent
from the great business side of our town and the
(01:08):
compassionate side of our town, and it's something that isn't
talked a lot, very much, but women have led the
way in forming a lot of the nonprofit organizations in Houston,
and they're a large part of the reason why we're
so successful. But it's a man who founded the Periwinkle
Foundation and he is here. His name is doctor Paul Gerson.
(01:28):
He is the founder of Periwinkle Foundation. He was also
in the Air Force before he became a physician. And
with him is Anne Massey. She is their development director.
Paul is good to see you again. You just came
back from Camp Periwinkle, which is well, it's a perfect
way to describe what your organization does.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
It is Indeed, we were at camp the week before last.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
Is that right? Yeah, Well, in the radio time it
matters a little less.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
The fact is that there were approximate late one hundred
and thirty children there for the week, and everybody had
a great time, and if they weren't having a good time,
we would find another way to deal with it. But
everybody did find nobody died, and we couldn't believe how
wonderful the whole thing was. That was actually Camp number
(02:18):
forty one for us.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
So these camps are very special because the campers are
very special, absolutely, and that's really the reasondet. The reason
why Periwinkle the Periwinkle Foundation exists is to help kids
living with cancer and their families have a bit of
normalcy in their lives. If you know a kid with cancer,
what they go through is absolutely horrifying, because that's what
(02:41):
happens to everybody who goes through fighting cancer. But it's
especially cruel when children are affected by it because one
of the things that it robs them of is a
large portion of their childhood and something that you don't
necessarily think about, but these are kids who very often
can't go to school at all for several years, and
(03:01):
so they miss out on a large chunk of their childhood,
which seems particularly cruel. And you founded the Periwinkle Foundation
to return some of that normalcy to their lives and
give them a taste of a normal childhood. So Camp
Periwinkle is a special place, not only because of its campers,
but it's also the facility that you've created. It's not
(03:24):
a normal camp. You have all the activities you would
expect at a children's camp, but you also have medical
facilities and physicians and nurses on staff, right correct, So
you should describe that because it feels like this is
just it must have been a daunting task to create
this from scratch. Nothing like this existed before you came along, right,
(03:45):
that's true.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But in a way you've explained why it was daunting
but successful because Houston is a very wealthy and very
generous city. That's what you said earlier. And the fact
is that when we were getting ready to do this
and we created the foundation of the Periwinkle Foundation, we
(04:08):
were able to begin. It was smaller at the time,
but there was not that much trouble scraping together finding
the money to put it on, and once we were
able to do a few successful camps, it became easier
and easier to get the money. It's not to say
that it's easy at all now, but fortunately we live
(04:30):
in a very, very generous and well to do place.
So that's it.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
We have one of the best medical communities in the world.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
No, we have the the medical center in the world.
It's certainly the largest, and in fact, the Texas Medical
Center is the largest employer in the city.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yeah, so you don't have any you're not wanting for volunteers.
You're able to harness some of those.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Just like money, you have to go out and find them,
and you have to work at it, and you have
to help that you find the ones that you really want.
It's a continuous business. It's a continuous job to get
the money to do the camp, to find the volunteers
to be there, and so forth, and it's a constant
and continuous thing that goes on and on and on.
It has been for forty years.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Our listeners can go to Periwinkle Foundation dot org Periwinkle
Foundation dot org to follow along and see some information.
You'll see some pictures of the clients, these little kids
that are having a great time at the camps, and
the various events that they have to raise funds because obviously,
(05:35):
if you think children's camps are expensive, and that's part
of the truth of them, it's expensive. Well, you know,
it's a resort and you're sending your kid to this resort,
so of course they've got to be fed and housed,
and there's all the activities and the counselors. So on
top of all of that, there's the medical aspect of
Camp Periwinkle. And they have two awesome events there. I
(05:56):
guess they're they're trademark events. That they do every year
to raise funds. Iron so milier or Iron sommelier, as
they would say in English, we say so milier in French.
The solier is the god of wine in a restaurant.
He is the gentleman in a fine restaurant who will
come around. They often have a special little lapple, a
special medallion on their lapple that identifies them as a somlier,
(06:20):
and they're the wine specialists. It's a French tradition. It's
a good tradition. Wine is a wonderful, wonderful human invention
from the grape. Did you know that grapes have DNA
that is almost as complex as humanities. It's it's one
of those really interesting things. The grape is an extraordinary plant,
and the so milier is the one who knows about
all the regions and what kind of grapes goes in.
(06:42):
So you can ask what kind of wine you'd like
to drink of this gentleman, of this lady, and they'll
be able to suggest from the restaurant's availability, and they'll
go down the cellar, at least in Francis, the cellar
very often and they'll bring back the bottle of wine.
So they do this competition every year and this year
is going to be on November seventh'd ask you. And
since you're the development director, she's in charge of getting
(07:03):
all the money into the organization. That's with the development
the base. But the Iron so Milier event is a
competition of all these brilliant wine savants, correct.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah, have thirteen male and female sammers in Houston that
compete for the title of Iron so Mayer. So it's
a competitive wine tasting and presentation. They're able to put
together their own flights to force celebrity judges to make
the final call for Iron Somier, and then guests of
(07:37):
the event are able to vote for people's choice.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
Yeah, it's a very democratic wine tasting event. And it's
held in a hotel too, very reasonably. Yes, it's all
just reasons.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Yes, it's at the Posto Hotel in the Galleria area,
and we're very lucky to have found them to be
a great partner for us for the past several years.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
So you dress up the room, you bring in all
these brilliant wins and people that are scholars really in
this culture, and they design a menu and of course
there's food obviously, Yes, there's a really nice you cater
a bunch of food.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Yes, we have an incredible selection of wine, spirits and
experiences in our Silent Auction, which is available to anyone.
You do not have to attend the event in order
to participate. It's one of the better wine auctions I
have ever seen, and I've seen plenty. Of course I'm
little biased, that's okay, but it's an amazing experience. And
(08:30):
we also have children's art available as well for purchase,
because another one of our missions is to promote Periwinkle
Arts and Medicine at the hospital, and this is art
that the children have created throughout their cancer journey.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
So the Iron Somlier event is going to be on
November seventh. What is this program about the arts and
medicine that you do in the hospitals?
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Periwinkle Arts and Medicine is programming that we provide that
give children and their patients and their siblings a creative
outlet to express themselves during their cancer journey or watching
their sibling go through cancer treatment. And they're able to paint,
they're able to draw, if it's creative writing. We have
community partners that assist us with writing as well. Performing
(09:16):
arts entertain the children in the hospital. It's just a
really great way for children, especially those that cannot go
to camp or they're stuck in the hospital doing treatment.
It's a way to be entertained and to get their
mind off the journey that they're currently on.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Are y'all using video games a little bit? Now?
Speaker 3 (09:34):
No, we're not.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
I know that the hospitals themselves, they obviously have several
programs going right at the same time, So folks don't
be alarm. I just I have a friend whose son
is fighting cancer. He has leukemia, and he just finished
his toughest year of chemotherapy where he had to be
in the hospital a lot. So he's back home a
lot more now and they're doing the oral chemo and
(09:57):
things are looking good. He uses video games as a
way to literally lifts himself out of some of the
physical and mental misery that comes along with fighting cancer.
And uh, they're you know, we we know that some
video games are very bad for your brain, but we're
talking about stuff like Fortnite and strategy games that are
(10:21):
goofy fun for kids, and they're not they're not encouraging
bad behavior. But what I think is extraordinary is that
all of these programs, whether it's the artistic organizations like
the Houston Ballet is sending in some ballerinas, some dancers
to perform for the kids and just hang around. It
takes some pictures. Uh, it's it's it's like a mental
vacation for the kids, and it is important for them
(10:44):
to have this as a part of their treatment because
how you feel in your head affects how you feel
in your body. We know that mind over matter is
a real thing, and all of all of these, all
of these measures, all of these tools that we have
at our disp position or very useful. So you can
go to Periwinkle Foundation dot org to find out how
(11:06):
you can participate. And like I say, you know, we're
a community, which means that no donation is too small.
You may not be able to give five thousand dollars
to an organization, but if you can give five dollars, well,
we're thousands of us who can give five dollars and
that makes a difference. You can send some kids to camp.
You are listening to Houston, PA Houston's Public Affairs Show.
(11:26):
My name is Laurent. My guests are here from the
Periwinkle Foundation. Anne Massey is their development director and doctor
Paul Gerson is their founder. He founded the Periwinkle Foundation.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
In what year, Paul, nineteen eighty three.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Nueteen eighty three. You should this is one of my
favorite stories. You should tell us just briefly.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Why origin story?
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yeah, is the superhero origin story? Exactly?
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Well, it all began. Actually I was a doctor in
the Air Force, and when I got out, I went
directly to M D Anderson from my radiology training. And
when I was at M d Anderson, I was occasionally
I went up to the children's floor at the time,
and at that time I also had three small sons
(12:15):
of my own, and I was appalled at what it
was like up there. Mind you, this was between nineteen
seventy I started there in nineteen sixty eight. From nineteen
seventy two. At that time, To give you an idea
of what was going on, the survival of children with leukemia,
which is the most common cancer in childhood, was weighed
(12:38):
less than five percent. In other words, it was a
death sentence. And I could understand that we didn't have
the answer in treating cancer at that time, but I
expected one day we would. But what I couldn't understand
is why there were no amenities on that children's floor.
It was a barren hallway with beige floors in bay walls,
(13:00):
not even a private room where a parent could go
and cry. And I thought, this is terrible. We have
to be able to do better than this, we being
the medical world. And that thought stayed with me, and
after my time at M. D. Anderson, I went directly
to Texas Children's and it was the same thing there
(13:23):
and a children's hospital, there were a barren hallways and
not very much amenity, and that's the way things were
at that time. And it took a while, but finally
one day my mother called me and said that there
had been a camp created in New York, funded by
Paul Newman, called the camp called the hole in the
Wall in the Wall camp. That's exactly right. And I said, well,
(13:46):
if they can do it, we can do it. And
I went directly to doctor Fernbach, who was the chief
of the cancer situation at Texas Children's and I told
him that there had been a camp created in New
York and we had to do it ourselves. He said, well,
he was busy. They were getting ready to create the
Ronald McDonald house, and he was tied up with that.
(14:07):
And I said, well, then will you give me permission
to recruit from your staff and your patients and start
a camp And he said yes. I said, so, okay,
then I will. And that was nineteen eighty three. So
I had been at Texas Children's for about ten years
and I had enough credibility that I could go around
the hospital and actually create and recruit, and I got
(14:30):
people together and we created a five oh one c
three foundation. We ultimately named it the Periwinkle Foundation because
from the Periwinkle found flower came the first reasonably effective
drug to treat leukemia. Amazingly, and so we had our
first camp in nineteen eighty four. About thirty children came
(14:53):
that summer and it was successful. It was wonderful. We
figured it out, and in fact, it was an Olympic
year that year. We took a day Wednesday to have
our own Olympics. And we still do an Olympic Day
every Wednesday. Yeah, yes, we still do the Olympics because
of that original coincidence that we did our camp during
an Olympic year. But the fact is is that the
(15:16):
camp worked, It was successful, the children loved it. It
was it was a revolutionary thing in the lives of
those children and in the in the process of Texas
Children's Hospital. And now at this point, goodness knows not
just the cancer kids, but the other patients of Texas
Children's Hospital. Many many, many of them are parts of
(15:39):
other camps for other purposes and other kinds of diseases.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
You have this camp in Brenham, and it's a it's
a it's kind of a special place. You have a
you have an association with them, right, correct, They explain
to us how that works. All right.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
So there's a place in just west of Brenham, near
the little town of Burton, and on two hundred acres
have been built a special camp which is called barrier free.
It means that there is no thing on that camp
that can't be done by any child, including children who
are in wheelchairs. And it's a perfect place, and it's
(16:18):
open year round, and many, many, many other camps besides
the Periwinkle Foundation utilize that location, utilize that facility. And
each year I happen to know that somewhere between ten
and twelve thousand children campers a year. Excuse me, or
(16:39):
go to camp for all for some period of time.
Periwinkle lasts week but the Periwinkle Foundation has several other
camps that are long weekends that are utilized there too,
and it's open year round. And I happen to know
that whereas we started Camp for All with sixteen partners
(17:04):
that utilize the camp, at this point there are sixty
four organizations that utilize Camp for All, So you're their
special purpose.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
And so you were able to inspire a sort of
tidal wave of development.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
I would say that's true. And I think that Camp
Periwinkle or the Periwinkle Foundation was sort of a model
that a lot of other organizations, including the Aides Foundation
and the Muscular Dystrophee and so forth, utilize as a
model to create their own camp for their particular children.
And in fact, the Periwinkles initially were very generous to
(17:43):
go out and try to explain to and try to
train the other organizations that would take their children there.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Shout out to Paul Newman's company, Newman's own you sometimes.
You probably have seen them in the grocery store. They
used the sauce they started with salad dressings. That's what
Paul Newman and his friend Hochner I forget his first name,
and they were the writer whose last name is Hawchner.
They were making vinaigrette in his basement and it was
(18:13):
so good they were giving them away as Christmas gifts
for their friends. They said, we should market this stuff
and sell it in grocery stores, and they expanded into
tomato sauces. They also brought in the first tomato sauces
that had chunks in them, because they didn't want purets
and powders. They wanted something natural, and the manufacturers resisted
until they found one factory that said, fine, we'll chop
(18:36):
up some tomatoes for you. And that was so good
that it popularized that sort of chunky sauce that we find.
But the whole point was that all of the money
from the Newman's own sales go to charity. And one
of the things they do is fun the Hole in
the Wall gang. I don't it's called Hole in the
Wall Camp and they might have changed the name of it.
I'm blanking on it, but of course that's a reference
(18:57):
to Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid, the wonderful
film from the late sixties with Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
They played Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid, the
famous Outlaws, and the gang in the film is called
The Hole in the Wall Gang, so to see. If
you haven't seen that movie, you really should look into it.
But most importantly, go buy some newman's own. The profit
(19:19):
they make from it literally go to good stuff. And
as a French guy, I'll endorse our product as being
the best tomato sauce pasta sauces you can find on
the shelves. You might have a preference for another, that's fine,
but it's really high quality stuff. You are listening to Houston, PA,
Houston's Public Affairs Show. My name is Laurent and my
guests are here from the Perry Winkle Foundation and Massey
(19:42):
is their development director and doctor Paul Gerson is the
founder of the Peri Weekel Foundation. I mean he was
an Air Force doctor. There. We mentioned that they're having
the Iron Soumelier event on November seventh that will be
available to you if you just go to Perry Winkle
Foundation Perrywinklefoundation dot org you'll find way you can sign
(20:05):
up and participate in this event. It's a really cool event.
If you like to taste wine and eat great food.
But and you're also doing an event on September twelfth
called Iron Bartender. Yes, so there's a theme here. We're
having a good time and we like irony. Well, well,
you can explain how that works actually, because obviously the
(20:27):
Camp Periwinkle is about having a good time. But these
kids are made of iron in a way. Their their
strength of character and their and their will to live
is absolutely inspiring. And it's the same thing with the
family that has to go through this. It really it
makes them stronger. Unfortunately will no fortunately what happens to
them that makes them stronger. So tell us about our bartender.
(20:48):
I suppose it's a bartender competition.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
Pudging, Yes, yes, so Iron Bartender. We started the competition
with several bars and locations in Houston and for the
month of June there was a competition for the Periwinkle
Cocktail and bartenders we're able to express their creativity with
their livation of choice and a dollar of each cocktail
(21:13):
benefited the Periwinkle Foundation. We had judges that judged all
of the cocktails and the top five bartenders are competing
for the title of Iron Bartender, and that will be
on September twelfth. They will be showcasing their Periwinkle Cocktail
for guests. So we have judges that will give the
(21:36):
award for Iron Bartender, and guests of the event are
able to vote for people's choice.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
So and actually try the cocktails. Yes, so all of
these donations obviously go to the Periwinkle Foundation. Don't you
have a wine specially made for you sometimes?
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Yes, our friends from Nice Winery have a Periwinkle Wine winery.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
We're very grateful for their partnership, which has been going
on for many years. They select a piece of art
that was created by one of our patients in the hospital,
and that is the label for the wine. It's a
limited release and proceeds of the sale of the special
wine benefit the Periwinkle Foundation, and we're very grateful for
(22:20):
their loyal partnership with us.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
How else do you get money? Do you get grants
from the government? Do you get any tax dollars?
Speaker 3 (22:25):
We have grants through public excuse me, through private foundations
and individual contributions, corporate contributions.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
None of those tax dollars. That's all private money, correct, Yeah,
so you don't you don't get any of our tax dollars.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
No, we're tax exempt.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Well yeah, well that's good. And obviously if you make
a donation to the Periwinkle Foundation, that's also taxes exempt.
But I guess I'll just throw the idea idea that
that maybe some of our tax dollars that are being
wasted in stupid areas could be used to help create
another camp and to span the services that you all
put out. But you know, in the meantime, folks, you
(23:05):
can go to Periwinkle Foundation dot org, Periwinkle Foundation dot
org and just participate yourselves. Donate five dollars, donate what
you can. It all makes a difference, commutatively speaking. And
when you said you were in a more commercial area
of profession before you joined Periwinkle, what was it like
(23:25):
for you when you first became in contact and you
met some of these kids and their siblings and their
parents that are fighting cancer.
Speaker 3 (23:32):
Well, it was not a hard sell for me to
become involved with Periwinkle. I was in the hospitality industry
for twenty eight years and I actually handled the Periwinkle Gala,
Oh yeah, which is every other year at a hotel
that's located in the Galleria.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
And after you can name it, It's okay.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Royal Sinesta, there you go and come. And after hosting
one of their galas, I was invited to visitors Day
at camp and my friends at Periwinkle had no idea
that I was a lifelong camper camp counselor in the
Hill Country. I did my internship for college in the
kitchen of a summer camp in the Hill Country. It's
(24:09):
just something my family we always did. And I mean
I was I was hooked. I mean, once I went
to visitors Day, I could you know, I have an
emotional connection to camp And I was like, well, sign
me up, whatever you need. Continued to do their gala,
and then during COVID hospitality industry and it was pretty decimated.
(24:30):
There's no way to sugarcoat it, and most of us
were looking for other means of employment. And about a
year or so later, I had been advised to really
look outside of the industry and someone who is now
my colleague was going to be a reference for me
for a nonprofit job. And she goes, wait, I've gone
part time, Come on in and I interviewed and the
(24:54):
rest is history.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
You just got here. Recently, very recently, this is my.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
Third camp as a as a periwinkle. Yes, that's a word.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
How do you describe it to people who who it's
hard to imagine? The joy and the resilience that you
see that it's inspiring is the only one that comes
to mind. But of course we associate cancer with danger
and incredible hardship. But as Paul described in previous interviews,
there's an incredible amount of love and joy in all
(25:27):
of this and it's hard to it's hard to describe,
and I think it might be even hard to relate
to until you actually experience it.
Speaker 3 (25:35):
Am I right about that joy is a perfect word
to describe it. And whether it's the week long camps,
our weekend camps, or watching children create art in the hospital,
or spending time with our long term survivors throughout the year,
which really have long term survivors have really paid a
price to be with to still be with us, and
(25:58):
we provide so much, yes, in an environment that provides
them so much. No, they can't hang out with friends
when they're going through their journey. There might be different
protocols involved to keep them safe and what we're able
to provide it's like how high can you jump? What
else can we do for you, and they come out
(26:20):
of the experience. We come out better people because we've
been able to experience it with them. They come out stronger,
ready to take on the rest of their journey with
a vengeance and with new friends.
Speaker 1 (26:33):
Paul, you mentioned that when you started in the late seventies,
we're in the early seventies, the survival rape for kids
with leukemia was around five percent or less. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Correct.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Do you know what it is now?
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Over ninety percent, which gives you a good idea of
the progress that's been made in the treatment of cancer.
Right now we have children we call long term survivors.
There was no such thing as that nineteen eighty three,
eighty four when we first started, when we were having
camps back in the early eighties, it was easy to
(27:07):
know when we were at camp who was not going
to be back the next year. And that doesn't happen anymore.
It's not like that. And what Anne said, which is
maybe the most operative word, is joy. Everybody is so
happy to be there. Thank God, at last, we're at
Camp Periwinkle and the children. One of my favorite things
(27:29):
to do there is just to stand back and watch
the children when it's lunchtime and just watch what they're doing.
Just see them be children, sitting at these big round
tables that we have, talking to one another, wearing the
T shirts and so forth and so on. And I
just love it. And there's this wonderful Yiddish word that's fell.
(27:52):
It just means to be absolutely blown away with wonderful,
wonderful pleasure. And I just stand there, as my grandmother
would say, and quail watching these children be children.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
She's probably pretty happy and then proud of you. It's
worth mentioning that one of the reasons we've transformed the
survival rate of leukema from five percent to ninety percent
and getting better is because people have made five dollars
donations to organizations that do their research. It's an example
of how powerful even small donations are. It's really worth it,
(28:28):
and especially if you're fortunate, My goodness, I hope you're
spending some of your money on nonprofit organizations. There's so
many worthy calls, but you can go to Periwinkle Foundation
dot org, Periwinko Foundation dot org to tap into that biosphere,
so to speak, and get to know a little bit
of these organizations and what they do. I suspect that
(28:53):
it's a matter of time before we can say that
the childhood leukemia is a little bit like HIV and
A people might still contract the disease, but it will
not even be a deaf sentence. It will be an inconvenience.
We will have treatments.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
I hope it's certainly. I hope too. I was part
of the hospital world during the time of the AIDS epandemic,
that's right, and I never would have believed that we
would ultimately turn that into a chronic disease to take pills.
That's really true, and God willing, we will continue to
(29:34):
make progress. And one of the things we always say
about the Children's Cancer Center is please put us out
of business.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Yeah, yeah, that's right. Well, you'll find something else to cure,
for sure, But it's all about trying to put these
people out of business ultimately, which is kind of a
weird way to look at it. Folks. I want you
to know that if you need to send me a
question you want to you have any questions related to Houston, PA,
you can just send me an email Texan from France
(30:04):
at gmail dot com. I can just send you the
link to the organizations that put on the show like
Perrywinkle Foundation dot org. I'm happy to communicate with you
and I want to thank you for listening and caring
about the issues I put on this show. My name
is Laurent I am the Texan from France and this
has been Houston, PA, Houston's public affairs show, Houston Strong.
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