Adam was diagnosed with severe haemophilia A when he was only one week old, after developing an intracranial bleed at birth. But the combination of his determination and the encouragement of his family have enabled him to deal with the many challenges he has faced.
His bleed left him with core balance problems and he has worked hard at overcoming these through a broad range of activities and sports. Adam is active on the family hobby farm as well as pursuing interests such as swimming, horse riding, fishing, motorbike riding, playing basketball with his local team and having fun on the trampoline at home.
‘Adam is an inspiration to us all. He’s always on the move proving that just because he has haemophilia doesn’t mean he can’t participate in activities just like all his friends,’ says his mother, Donna. ‘He has come ahead in leaps and bounds in recent years.’
Adam’s family have played a key role, making sure Adam has a positive, supportive environment. Donna has helped him to stay on track to meet the personal goals he has set himself – and, in fact, he often exceeds these goals.
For Adam, none of this is achieved without effort and Donna is committed to bolstering his strength and wellbeing:
‘Adam tires easily so we make sure he gets enough rest, eats well and is involved in a number of sporting or physical activities to build up his muscle tone and stamina. Even though Adam’s balance is very good, he actually has to work hard both mentally and physically to achieve that look.’
With severe haemophilia, Adam has to have clotting factor concentrate injected into a vein every second day (and extra if he is playing sport) to prevent bleeding. Learning to self-infuse your treatment is one of the challenges of growing up with haemophilia and Adam is well on the way to handling this.
‘Adam recently won a kayak in the prize draw at a local fishing contest – the perfect opportunity for him to add another interest to his already extensive list. ‘I want to take my kayak to the Blue Rock Dam so I can complete two laps of the dam,’ says Adam. With the Dam’s official length at 600 metres, that will be no mean feat!
