My name is Jonathan and I have severe Hemophilia A. I am 31 years old, married to the love of my life, have four kids, and I am a Financial Advisor. I have a real passion for the hemophilia community and am constantly looking for ways to give back. My wife and I started a Non-Profit Foundation called “Hope for Hemophilia,”and are constantly working on ways to reach out to others in this growing community.

This past year we started a web site designed to help connect the community even more by utilizing social networking technology. The site is www.hopeforhemophilia.net. We hope that ultimately this will become THE web site for the hemophilia community.  This site will ultimately help people living with hemophilia to gather and develop information through life-giving relationships. We envision this being the main point of gathering for the hemophilia community because we are so spread out geographically.

Over the past couple of years, I have had the opportunity to travel and speak at many different hemophilia related events. As I have traveled, I have seen a wide variety of approaches to individual care, not so much on the part of HTC’s, but rather variety in terms of what individuals themselves are doing in  managing their own care. One of the first questions asked is “Do you prophy dose?” Which is slang for “Do you treat prophylactically?”

I have heard many different thoughts and ideas about prophylactic treatment, versus on-demand treatment, from nurses, doctors, manufacturers, home health agencies, and caregivers. However, I would like to take a moment and offer a few thoughts from one patient’s perspective. Please keep in mind, I am assuming that your Doctor or HTC has recommended you as a candidate for a prophylactic regimen.  I always recommend that you seek the professional advice of your health care provider before making any changes to your treatment.

Many people focus on the inconvenience of infusing, but what about how convenient it really is. Compared to what was available 10 years ago, we have a very streamlined process.  Most of us are VERY fortunate that we have factor readily available, and given our circumstance, I think it is worth taking advantage of.   If your doctor and HTC agree that you are in fact a candidate for prophylaxis, then by all means, do it!

Most people don’t realize that EVERY time you bleed into a joint, it damages and therefore weakens your joints. This is important because each time you don’t infuse you are placing your future health at risk. Steven Covey, a well respected author, says that we often address the urgent rather than the important. This is interesting when discussing this concept because for those who only treat on-demand, I believe they are letting the urgent (the activity, or the bleed) become the thing they pay the most attention to, rather than paying attention to the important (prophylactic treatment and/or joint health and preventing bleeds). You see, when we don’t treat regularly, we end up with damaged joints that can NEVER fully recover. Something is taken from you that you can’t regain! Something is PERMANANTLY removed from the health of your joints.

What does this mean in “real” life?  As I said earlier, I have four beautiful children! I have had two ankles fused and 6 surgeries to correct joint damage. As you can imagine, all of this was done during times of potential promotions at my job, during babies being born, during holidays, etc. At times, it has caused me to be limited in my activity and involvement in my children’s lives. I don’t share that as a sob story, only as a realization that life activities go on, whether you are able to or not. There are many things that I have wanted to do over the years that I have not been able to do, because of  limitations due to joint damage. Probably the most impacting, is not being able to wrestle with my kids the way I always dreamed of. This has taken a huge emotional toll on me directly. It has taken quite a bit of encouragement from loved ones and some professional counseling at times, to overcome.

I am a financial planner, as I said earlier, and many times people start off with a great plan in place. They know they would like to retire at 65. They start a plan when they are in their 30′s and start dreaming or imagining what they will do once they retire.  Most often, what happens between someones mid 30′s and their mid 50′s is amazing. They realize that the urgent took presidence over the important. They didn’t stick to the plan. They didn’t save a little along the way. They didn’t do what they COULD have when they had the opportunity.

I am concerned that during the transitional periods of patients taking treatment into their own hands, they stop treating prophylacticaly. Many of the kids in the community today grew up on some form of prophylactic treatment and as they are growing up, I believe it is imperative that we as a community continue to help them understand the reasons and benefits of keeping their joints healthy. I know of patients today who had perfectly healthy joints when they were young and are graduating college today with target joints. So when they are getting ready to start their careers or are getting married they are already having to deal with chronic bleeding.  In a time in their lives when they should be the most active, they simply have to slow down. This just doesn’t have to be this way.

Many HTC staff members promote prophylactic treatment as a way to help patients enjoy a relatively healthy and normal lifestyle.  Much like the financial planning example, though sometimes people start out with great intentions, then the urgent takes precedence over the important and it effects their lifestyle. If we are not careful we will have a community full of  “once upon a time” patients with stories of high school successes, and career failures.

I believe that the future is bright for our community. Easier treatments will evolve, but for the time being, Carpe Diem (Seize the day!) Set yourself or your child up for success. If they need encouragement or help, let someone in the community know. There are more and more of us that are older, that can act like big brothers and help them understand the importance of the little decisions along the way.  Help yourself, friends, children, patients understand the reasons behind infusing regularly. I believe that so many of the patients who are in transitional periods of life, stop infusing or following what they were told because as children they were told “you must treat regularly, rather than taught why they should infuse regularly. However, it is imperative as they grow older that we, as a community,  help them understand the “why” behind prophylaxis.

Lifetime Caps Bill Introduced  

On Friday, February 13, 2009, Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) and Jim Langevin (D-RI), along with Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced the Health Insurance Coverage Protection Act (H.R. 1085; S442).  The legislation, introduced in both houses in 2008, will set a $10 million minimum lifetime cap on health insurance, with future increases based on inflation.

The National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) played a vital role in encouraging the legislation and assembling a coalition of more than 50 patient advocacy and health organizations currently working for its passage. “However, nothing could happen without the critical leadership of the members of Congress who recognized this problem and decided to do something about it,” said Val Bias, NHF CEO. “We applaud these leaders for identifying this critically needed piece of healthcare reform and moving it forward.” On Thursday, February 26, 2009, more than 350 people affected by bleeding and clotting disorders will gather on Capitol Hill for our annual Washington Days advocacy event. We will express our support for this important legislation and discuss other key healthcare issues with members of Congress and their staff.

“Having an inadequate lifetime cap defeats the purpose of health insurance and forces those with disabilities and chronic illnesses into an impossible situation,” Dorgan said. “Low caps also end up costing the taxpayer because once people with illnesses hit their cap, they often turn to government programs for their care. This legislation will raise lifetime insurance caps and allow those with illnesses to focus on recovering—not worrying about how they are going to pay for their treatment.”

“This bill addresses a critical lack of coverage for those with disabilities or chronic illnesses,” said Eshoo. “It’s a travesty to think that people are job-hopping in order to switch insurance plans or quitting their job all together to access Medicaid. Increasing the minimum lifetime cap will result in a net savings for federal and state governments because individuals with high medical costs can maintain private health insurance. As medical treatment costs continue to increase, the issue of lifetime insurance maximums will become even more important. This legislation will protect individuals who are struggling to pay for the expensive medical treatments that are a result of a disability or chronic illness.”

NHF applauds the efforts of the bill’s sponsors and co-sponsors. We will keep you informed of further action on this bill after Washington Days.

POSTED BY: DAVID