Life before my diagnosis

All of my life I have had to deal with problems with bleeding.

I would get nosebleeds that would last 4-5 hours. I was a dancer and a gymnast and had problems with my knees. I went to the doctor several times for what we thought was water on the knees, I now wonder if it was actually a bleed. Surgeries were always scary. I had one surgery that should have lasted 1-2 hours that lasted 6 because they couldn’t stop the bleeding.

I actually feel blessed that I wasn’t diagnosed earlier. I can say that now because nothing life threatening happened before my diagnosis. Had I been diagnosed when I was younger I would have received blood products many of which were tainted with HIV. Many people living with a bleeding disorder are also living with HIV or AIDS and Hepatitis. And too many families have lost loved ones to AIDS.