Alan shares his story about how speaking with others about his bleeding disorder helped ease his transition into higher education
‘It’s about sharing experiences of bleeding disorders with each other in order to improve awareness and increase access to treatment.‘
For many young people, starting university can be a stressful time. One member of the community, Alan, shared his story about how speaking with others about his bleeding disorder helped ease his transition as well as educating his classmates. Alan’s journey to higher education had a few extra challenges, as his diagnosis means that he regularly needs to inject himself with his treatment product.
We asked Alan if there was anything that made his first few weeks at uni different than it would be for someone who did not have a bleeding disorder. ‘It was not that hard as a week before I started I spoke to a special needs officer and they could accommodate a quiet room to inject myself if needed’.Being prepared and discussing his needs with the university made it easier for Alan to ensure he had everything he needed in place to succeed at uni, whilst still looking after his health. He was also able to sit his exams in a room on his own, to allow him to access his medication as required.
It helped that Alan is studying pre-medicine, as he found the class was soon studying haematology and he was able to relate his own experience to his course. ‘All my friends were welcoming of the condition and it benefited everyone’. Sharing his story helped Alan’s class to better understand bleeding disorders and it also helped Alan educate future health professionals about his condition, something that may help the community in the long term
Reference – https://www.factoredin.org.au/stories/world-haemophilia-day-2018/alan-s-story-1
