Two former IF Presidents reflect on the start of IF

18 June 2017 // Both former IF President Pierre Mertens and founding President Björn Rundström are fathers of daughters with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. Their ongoing dedication to IF has been inspired by Liesje and Eva. This year, they met in Uppsala, Sweden, where Pierre decided to interview Björn, to learn more about the beginnings of IF.

When the shunt was invented in the 1950’s, more and more children born with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus started to survive and parents started to look for information, started to look for others in the same situation. Björn travelled through Europe, actively searching for Spina Bifida organisations, and brought together representatives of organisations from nearly 20 countries at the first Spina bifida conference in 1979 in Stockholm. Read the full interview: A lesson in getting old.