When I had my children I knew about hemophilia, but I realize my knowledge barely scratched the surface!. I was told that our daughters could be carriers, but at the time, they didn't really talk about any issues they may have. When I had Ashley, it didn't seem to be an issue, so I went on without giving it another thought. Then we had Brianna... she was 18 months old when she got the smallest cut possible on her finger. It was so small that I couldn't even see it. So, we put a bandaid on it and went on with our day. But, it kept bleeding, for days. Several days later, I went to get her out of her crib and she was covered in blood, along with her bed, the wall, it had even started dripping on the floor. I was terrified. I ended up taking her to the hospital over it. They couldn't stitch it up because it was too small. They ended up putting something on it to get the bleeding to stop and we went on with our lives. Not long after that, she was playing and fell and cut her lip. Again, no matter what we did, we couldn't get the bleeding to stop. Back to the hospital we went. While there, they tested her factor levels. They were so low that they diagnosed her as a hemophiliac. I was devastated. I knew of this disease, but I didn't know this disease (if that makes any sense). When we joined the Midwest Hemophilia Association, I was finally able to talk to other parents who were just like us. It was so comforting knowing they were there. Fast forward many years. We now know that Ashley is affected by this too, and probably was all along, but we didn't know what to look for before. I am so thankful for the resources we have access to in this community.  The reason for this long post is we are walking this June to raise funds. Please consider donating. Thanks for listening!

Sincerely,

Denise DiCapo