Leo was born in Guatemala with Hemophilia A, a genetic bleeding disorder. At the age of three (3), Leo joined me to become one family. For a year and a half, Leo had severe, weekly nosebleeds (sometimes, many a day), as well as unexplained joint pain in his ankles and knees. We eventually made our way to the University of North Carolina Hemophilia Treatment Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where he was finally diagnosed with Hemophilia A at five (5) years of age. I shudder when I think about the pain he must have endured during the years before his diagnosis. But...a diagnosis meant treatment! 

Treatment requires research, and research requires money, and lots of it. We feel incredibly lucky to have found the UNC HTC but also lucky because a great deal of research and medical advancement took place before Leo came along and needed this life-saving medication(s). The production of medication for all bleeding disorders remains very costly, and is most certainly expensive to the patient and families. Let me just give you an example of the cost. If it were not for copay assistance from pharmaceutical companies and another funding source, the co-pay alone for Leo's primary Hemophilia medication would be $19,000 per month. And that amount is for only one of two medications he requires to treat and prevent Hemophilia-related bleeding episodes. Treatment is an absolute necessity for people with any type of bleeding disorder.

And yet, treatment is just one variable to consider when you have a bleeding disorder -- advocacy, education, financial assistance, and research are all factors that are addressed every day by the Bleeding Disorders Foundation of North Carolina (BDFNC). This foundation works tirelessly to advocate for health care reform; plus, the BDFNC assists the North Carolina bleeding disorder community with financial support, summer camps, scholarships, and educational programming. And you know what else? North Carolina is one of the leading states in the U.S. with regard to research, knowledge, care and treatment of people with Hemophilia. Institutions such as the University of North Carolina, Duke University, Wake Forest University, and East Carolina University are only some of the many world leaders in the treatment and research of Hemophilia.

We support the Bleeding Disorders Foundation of North Carolina's mission to improve the quality of life of persons affected by bleeding disorders through advocacy, education, promotion of research, and delivery of supportive programs and services. Won't you join us?