The Brantner family manned an HPS Network booth at the Annual Clinical Genetics Meeting, April 1-2, 2019 in Seattle. They spoke with people working directly with patients in genetics departments across the country about HPS, how to test for HPS and the services offered by the HPS Network. Kylee Brantner stole the show at the booth as she expertly explained HPS to conference attendees and offered them cookies. (HPS booths typically feature cookies to illustrate the lack of delta dense bodies on HPS platelets.) “Sometimes people would stop by the booth and one of us would start to explain HPS, and they would stop us and ask to hear it from Kylee,” says Kristen Brantner, Kylee’s mom and a board member of the HPS Network. “We actually had some of the conference attendees tweeting us to compliment Kylee on what a great job she did explaining the syndrome,” says Heather Kirkwood, Vice President and Director of Communications of the HPS Network, who manages HPS Network social media and communications. “She really did make an impact on them, and that’s great!”
