Thomas Graham shares his experience traveling with hemophilia, including how he prepares for emergencies, finds care on the road, and advocates for himself when it matters most.
Transcript
I have spent my life mostly in New York state, but I do occasionally get a chance to travel. And traveling, of course, is something that needs to be aware of your medical condition when you’re going places, and hemophilia is by far one of the more serious ones to know about.
I need to know what to do if something happens to me when I go to Florida. I’ve never been chased by a shark, but you never know what’s possible when you’re in a place that you’re not familiar with.
I actually just came back from Florida, and fortunately, it was a good trip. Nothing happened, but I have had previous trips where I’ve had to seek out medical services for bleeds. Or, in one instance, I cut a finger and was bleeding pretty bad, and I needed somebody that could respect the fact that I am a hemophiliac and move me to the front of their line so that I didn’t bleed all over their emergency room waiting room for hours on end.
You can’t just walk into some strange emergency room and say, “Hey, I cut my finger.” You know, you have to speak up and say more. And especially if you’re having a joint bleed. And educating doctors who should know better is not one of my favorite things to do.
Mostly what I do is I familiarize myself with the area that I’m going to, and where the medical facilities are in the outside chance that I need them. And of course, I always carry a nice big supply of Band-Aids and gauze, but I’ve been fortunate to be able to travel to a bunch of different places, either for pleasure or for business.
Traveling back and forth to New York City has always been a favorite of mine. I actually lived in New York City for four years, but I know the facilities in New York that are available.
I also know people in the community there that I can reach out to, which is helpful because if I need help, I know that there’s people available.
Preparation, the preparation that you do every day just, I mean, know who you are and what your situation is. Know what your needs are. It’s always very important to make sure that you’ve got the right supplies. You’ve got a current supply of factor. You need to make sure that you know where to go in the event that something happens to you.
Just be smart, be self-aware, and don’t be afraid to speak up for yourself. Because even when you’re in a place where you don’t know where you are or that people don’t know you, you still have a right to receive the treatment that you need.
