In the spotlight

Some words of farewell for Piet de Kleijn

By Dr Sébastien Lobet, EAHAD Physiotherapists Committee past Chair
 
Dear Piet,

 
What a great coincidence that the EAHAD Congress in The Hague this past February was your last as a member of our committee! I wonder if you have some control over destiny, having the Congress be at your home, in The Netherlands.
 
For many years, you were involved in the musculoskeletal committee of the WFH. Then, together with David Stephensen, Paul McLaughlin, and myself (probably after a couple of beers!) we decided to set up the EAHAD physio committee in 2015. We were then joined by Marie Katzerova, Ruth Elise Dybvic Matlary and Rubén Cuesta-Barriuso.
 
Establishing a committee was just the first step, as, together, we created a network of almost 300 physiotherapists around Europe in just 3-years’ time. These achievements were, to a great extent, thanks to your professional commitment, your tenacity, your unending energy and your famous model of the bike, the saddle, and the wheel that I will never be able to remember.
 
You wrote the book “Physiotherapy management in Hemophilia” with Dr Evelien Mauser. Of course, your generous personality “urged” you to distribute the book free of charge to as many health professionals as possible. Therefore, at each conference, all your van Creveldkliniek colleagues had to bring a few copies in their suitcases!
You are not only a competent and very professional colleague, but also an adventurer of the world. Wherever you go, you touch people’s hearts and give them motivation. Your energy is contagious and your capacity for kindness and devotion to people is boundless.
 
In 2019, you received the EAHAD Recognition Award for Outstanding Contribution and you are currently the only physiotherapist to have achieved that. On behalf of the physiotherapists from Europe and all over the world, on behalf of the health professionals you have helped, on behalf of the patients you care about, I wish you all the best in your – even post retirement – definitely very active future.
 
We wish you to continue to live with the same energy, motivation and enthusiasm to achieve your many dreams and to continue to be a mentor, a guide and a friend to all the people you have met in your rich career.
 
You helped make physiotherapy visible in the treatment of haemophilia.
 
Thank you, Piet.