Lincoln’s guide to raising awareness

Hi, I’m Lincoln, I have haemophilia B and I’m 10 years old.

Lincoln has haemophilia B and has been raising awareness with his family and school for most of his life. This October marks Lincoln’s 11th Red Cake Day.

His mum, Jasmin, said,

‘Lincoln loves celebrating Red Cake Day with his class. I think Lincoln enjoys that something which is normally a very personal part of his life becomes something positive that his friends and classmates can celebrate with him. It gives him a chance to talk about haemophilia in a fun and relaxed way rather than it always being about bleeds, hospitals, treatment or injuries.

‘When Lincoln has the courage to stand up in front of his class and share his story, it makes me so proud. Lincoln is the first person in our family with a bleeding disorder, so when he was diagnosed, we didn’t have that family knowledge or experience to fall back on. We have learnt so much from hearing about people’s real lived experiences. If he can help another child or family feel a little less afraid or alone, that would be something really special.’

We asked Lincoln for his tips on how other kids can help raise awareness about bleeding disorders.

FIND OUT MORE

Visit www.haemophilia.org.au/BDAM to find out more about Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month and Red Cake Day.

What question do you get asked the most about haemophilia?

Probably, ‘How did you get haemophilia?’

If your friend hadn’t heard of haemophilia before, how would you explain it to them?

It’s something where if you fall over or get hurt, your body doesn’t stop bruising or bleeding the same way as other people. Some people with haemophilia are missing a clotting factor, so we might bleed for longer. We can have factor with a needle or port to help our blood clot so the bleeding stops and we can heal.

What are some things you do to raise awareness of haemophilia and bleeding disorders?

We celebrate Red Cake Day, talk about haemophilia in my classroom and school, do activities and eat cupcakes. Sometimes we raise money to sponsor a child with haemophilia in another country.

Do you have any advice for other kids who want to raise awareness of bleeding disorders?

Just start doing it at school or preschool. You can wear red, donate money, get the colouring in competitions from Haemophilia Foundation Australia, bake cakes at home and celebrate with your friends.

Photos supplied by Jasmin and Lincoln and reproduced with permission.