Spreading Awareness 1 Mile at a Time

I’ve always been drawn to vanity plates. They really can stimulate your mind and keep you guessing. Some are more self-explanatory than others, and others can lead you on a search asking “what is that”??? Which is exactly what I hoped to accomplish with my “CURE HHT” Ohio license plate.

I want people to ask “What is HHT?” And though I may never know how many people have asked Google, I’m sure there’s been many. They say curiosity is the engine of achievement. With this achievement, we create awareness. It’s a simple thing we all can do.

Let’s talk about what I do know…..

Leaving the grocery store one day, a woman approached me. She said she had noticed my license plate a while ago in the same lot and was “curious.” She looked it up. Turns out her nephew in California had been having uncontrollable nosebleeds. She thought the information she found on HHT could be helpful. She passed it along to her brother and was very thankful for the information.

Another time leaving the grocery store (yes, I grocery shop a lot), a woman came to me and said she had been sitting there just waiting for me to come out. She saw my plate and was anxious to talk because she had HHT. We’ve spoken a few times since then and I was able to get her in touch with Dr. Parambil at the Cleveland Clinic to address her concerns.

At a recent Pilates class, a women asked me if I was the one with the CURE HHT plate. Turns out she was a nurse at Ohio State working in the pulmonary department and had seen many HHT patients come through. I shared some business cards with her and told her to feel free to pass them along to any patients who might want someone to talk to.

These are just small examples of the impact my plate has made. I hope there are many more lives that have been touched because someone asked, “What is HHT’???