My name is Cristian Dragusin and I am a person with severe hemophilia from Romania. I am 25 years old and have recently graduated medical school. Things are looking up for my life but there were moments in the past when I could have never seen myself achieve everything I did. It was only with the support of the people around me that I was able to get this far and look forward to the future, in spite of my condition.
My early childhood was not as affected by my disorder as the later years, with only some occasional bleeding episodes. As I started school, however, the bleedings became more frequent and debilitating, the right elbow being the first target joint. Access to treatment was limited because I developed inhibitors, and there was no prophylaxis to speak of. The pain would keep me up at night and treatment often only consisted of cold compresses.
When I was 12, I had a severe episode that involved both my knees. I was in and out of the hospital for several months and there was long lasting damage. Around that time, my parents divorced and my mother was left alone to take care of me with help from my grandparents. The frequent and long periods of hospitalization were difficult to say the least. It was also at that age when I went to my first hemophilia camp, where I got to meet and befriend many other children like me. I was using a wheelchair when camp first started and, by the time I returned home, thanks to the treatment I received, I could walk with crutches. Every year afterwards I would look forward to Camp Ray of Hope, the place where I could move and have fun without worries.
The second turning point was in high school, when I had another severe event involving my knees. There were times when not even the hospital had any treatment available. Both of my knees were now permanently affected and I couldn’t walk without crutches anymore. This was the most hopeless time of my life.
As high school was nearing its end, I had to choose what I was going to do next. After long considerations and changes of heart, medical school seemed to be the path for me. Working in this field was something that just resonated with me after all the time spent in the hospital. And by the time high school ended, I finally gained access to prophylaxis and the number of bleeds decreased drastically: better later than never.
University came with its own set of problems. Courses and rotations were often in different parts of the city and there were many costs associated with school and living in a different place on my own. It was thanks to my family and the support offered by Save One Life that I managed to finish it without a hitch. The sponsorships and scholarships I received from Save One Life over the years were especially of great help in easing the financial burden.
Looking back, the journey to this point in time wasn’t the happiest so I am extraordinarily grateful to the people that were by my side, and especially to my mother, who has done everything in her power to make my life easier. Now I have proper access to treatment and will start working in a couple of months, a scenario which was merely a dream years ago, and I intend to live this dream to the fullest.
