Hemophilia 101

When I tell people I have hemophilia I get one of several different reactions. The fist is a blank stare because they have no idea what hemophilia is, which is okay since it is a rare disorder and is very rarely taught or discussed. The second is a look of horror and I can see the thinking flash through their head. OMG he has HIV then they go the extra step and I can see it in their eyes, OMG he has AIDS, then the last step, he's going to infect me, they take a step back and then make an excuse to leave. A third reaction is "aren't you afraid of bleeding to death?" Again it's an honest reaction like the first reaction especially considering some PSA's that have talked about hemophilia being a bleeding Disorder and then menacingly showing a drawer full of knives. And I can guarantee at least 1 in 4 people will say, "Is that why you have a beard, you can't shave." These are the 3 reaction I get most often but there are dozens of others ranging from absolute curiosity, which I prefer since I love to educate people on hemophilia, to people telling me I don't have hemophilia. Seriously, people who don't know me or my medical history, including some doctors, have told me I don't have hemophilia, that I didn't know what I was talking about. There was one Physician Assistant who insisted I didn't have hemophilia and I didn't know what I was talking about since he just took his boards and he knew all about hemophilia. This happened when I was 38 and had been teaching about hemophilia for over 20 years and he was a PA fresh out of college who was an assistant for a Urologist, so obviously he knew more then me.
To be continued ......