​Tommy's Story

​​Tommy Cameron was born in March of 2010.  A vision of perfection to his father and me, we could not be more proud to call this beautiful boy our son. We were released from the hospital  to begin our new life as a family 2 days after his birth.  Despite the fact that he had developed 2 large bumps on his head from a C-section delivery and he had not stopped bleeding from the site of his circumcision,  he was given a clean bill of health and we could not wait to bring him home.  Our first 2 days at home were not easy ones.  Tommy screamed for most of the night and was inconsolable despite our attempts comfort him.  
     Four days after his birth, Tommy developed large bruising on the back of his neck.  We took him to the doctor immediately where he was examined and had his blood drawn for testing.  A few short hours later, we were called and told to bring him to the hospital for more testing immediately.  Horrified, we did as we were told and brought him directly to the hospital.  Unaware of the doctor's findings, we were scared and confused and had no idea why we were there.  More blood was drawn and we were told that Tommy would be admitted overnight until the new blood results came back.  
Tommy was  diagnosed with  Hemophilia A.  I had previously only heard the word Hemophilia from a movie I watched many years earlier about a boy named Ryan White.  I knew nothing about this disorder.  Almost immediately after being given Tommy's diagnosis, my husband and I researched every possible article to help us understand Hemophilia.  Tommy's level of Hemophilia is Severe, meaning he has less than 1% of Factor 8 in his blood.  Factor 8 is an essential blood clotting protein.  
During our hospital stay, Tommy was given numerous doses of Factor 8 to help his body stop bleeding.  After a few days, we were released to go home to begin our new lives once again. But this time it would be not just as new parents, but as parents of a child with a bleeding disorder.