Patient Script

Page 1

ELOCTATE® [An hemophilic Factor (Recombinant), Fc Fusion Protein] Peer Story – Chayse P. I have a confession to make – I’m a music junkie…hopelessly addicted to the art, especially rock. When I was younger and my hair was down to here, people would even ask me if I was some kind of headbangin’ rock star. Funny thing is, I am a headbanger – always have been. Currently, I compose, record, and perform music, and I teach kids guitar, drums, piano, and vocals at a music school. On a more literal level, back when I was a young child, I used to run through the house, banging my head on everything in my path as I belted out songs from Guns & Roses. My mom was usually hot on my trail, yelling at me to slow down. The problem was Mom wasn’t just annoyed by my rambunc ousness; she was fran cally insistent that, despite the fact I was wearing a helmet indoors, I was at risk of ge ng seriously injured. You see, for a kid with severe hemophilia A, being a headbanger wasn’t cool at all. In fact, it was quite possibly life threatening. While I’m being compensated by Sano Genzyme to speak today, I’m excited to tell you how I became empowered to literally and gura vely take o that helmet and face the challenges of life with hemophilia and to share my experience with ELOCTATE. I was born to young but very focused and driven parents. My dad was about 20, and Mom was just 18 and s ll in high school, but they were happy and excited to start a family. A er undergoing rou ne newborn procedures in the hospital, I bled profusely, but with no history of bleeding disorders in my family, I was not tested to see what the cause might be. They just patched me up, kept an eye on me for a few days in the hospital, and then sent me home. When my mom graduated from high school and started work shortly a er that, she’d pick me up from the babysi er at the end of the day, and I would be covered with bruises. Every day, I’d have new bruises. Again, I was not tested for any abnormali es but, instead, perpetually kept safe within a barricade of pillows. One day, when I was about six months old and beginning to move around more, I was put in a walker. A er li ing me out of it a short me later, my parents were shocked to see a deep bruise around my mid-sec on exactly the shape of the walker. This me, they took me to the doctor, and a er a full ba ery of tests, I was diagnosed with severe hemophilia A. It was determined that my mother was a spontaneous carrier. No one else in my family has it – including my younger brother who was born one year, one month, and one day a er I was. So, it was just the two of us – one robust and healthy and the other as fragile as glass. Following my diagnosis, the decision was made to put a port in my chest and start me on a prophylac c regimen of daily factor infusions. Despite the stress I’m sure my condi on added to the inherent strains on a young couple, my parents stayed together for a few more years before they split up. The next several years a er the divorce couldn’t have been even slightly easy on my mom. She took several jobs at once while she was single, raising two li le boys. She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever known, and honestly, that’s really helped me in my ba le with hemophilia. I’ve wri en many songs about her incredible resilience. On top of the physical and nancial demands, there were emo onal pressures too. Believe it or not, people who had seen the extensive bruises on my body reported my mom to the Division of Family and Children Services. I can’t imagine how hard that must have been for her – and for many other parents of children with bleeding disorders who are eyed suspiciously or falsely accused – but it is a painful reality. When I was about ve or six years old, my dad married my stepmom – another fantas c female role model in my life. She gave me two more li le brothers and – nally! – a li le sister. I was a kid with hemophilia who had been wrestling brothers all the me un l she came along. She’s probably my favorite sibling because she’s the sweetest…and de nitely the least dangerous. My mom remarried a few years a er dad, and my stepdad also became a very in uen al presence in my life. Thinking back about the struggles I’ve been through – whether with hemophilia or life in general – I realize it’s all about how you recover…how you bounce back. I’ve always tried to be posi ve and have a good outlook. I have nothing but love for everyone in my family, and I have no regrets about any of the challenges I’ve faced, including hemophilia. It’s who I am.

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Patient Script by victoriagunbatar - Issuu