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Thomas from Austria |   |
Facts
| Name |
Thomas (thomschi) |
| Age |
25 |
| Location |
Vienna, Austria |
| Occupation |
Student |
| Bleeding disorder |
Haemophilia |
| Type |
A - severe |
Questions and answers
How much does the bleeding disorder affect your life?
I am lucky to say that, until now, I don’t have the impression hemophilia affects me very much in my life. Somtimes I stop and wonder why I do forget about it so often. Maybe the simplest answer is that I feel comfortable with myself and try to keep an eye on the things I would like to achieve or enjoy, without bothering too much about my state of health. I know it is a privilege to be as forgetful about it and I know that it may as well seem a bit irresponsible. Nevertheless I don’t feel it really makes any sense to concentrate too much on myself or to be afraid of things I will never be able to controll completely.
Which possibilities for treatment do you have?
Thanks to the social security system the standards of medical treatment are very elevated in Austria. Adequate supply with clotting factor concentrates and comprehensive care are guaranteed and completely covered by the public health insurance funds. But I know that, in comparison to most countries around the world, this is an extraordinary exception and that there is no guarantee the situation in my country will stay as good as that forever.
What kind of contact do you have with other young people with bleeding disorders?
During my studies I had the fantastic oppurtunity to spend a year in Paris – which was an enormous chance for me but also involved a lot of stress and trouble. Running around all day, desperately searching for an appartment, bothering with all the formalities, financial, bureaucratic or academic (at the time I did’nt even speek french), finally having to move all of my stuff to Paris and then back home again – all of these things occupied so much of my nerves and energy: I just did not find the time to think about hemophilia. Afterwards I realized I had’nt even contacted a doctor or hospital at Paris, where I could go in any case of emergency. Unfortunately I also missed the chance to meet other people affected by hemophilia or any severe bleeding disorder, which is something I really do regret by now.
Since then I have slightly changed my attitudes. Maybe because I felt the way of dealing with myself was a bit too irresponsible and that I was unconsciously trying to push something away. There were times when I thought: “Why should I make friends with other people affected by hemophilia. I have enough friends on my own. And I do not have anything in common with these people except for ‘my disease’.” Finally I realized that I had to accept the fact that my state of health could worsen one day and that this would sooner or later include growing dependency on the benevolence of the welfare state system. Wether or not I liked the idea of it, I had to react to the fact that I was part of a statistic minority and that it was not simply a private but also a social and even political question to be interested in hemophilia and to take responsibility for myself. Otherwise somebody else would take it sooner or later.
What would you like to know about other young people with bleeding disorders around the world?
I think the most effective tool to take social and political responsibility is to organize. To meet with people who share the same interests as you do and to become aware of your own situation by comparing it to the situation of others, having to deal with similar problems. In my opinion this is not only a question of spare-time activity – it is also one of self-interest.
Facts about Austria
| Government form |
Federal republic |
| Area |
82,444 sq km |
| Population |
8,192,880 (estimated) |
| GDP per capita (indication of the wealth generated per person) |
$32,900 |
| Internet users |
4,6 million |
(Flag, data and map from CIA World Factbook 2006)
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