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Patients’ stories

LIFE WITH & WITHOUT THALASSAEMIA by Diane Abou Hamia

Winner Story #2 – International Thalassaemia Day 2019

 

”I had been diagnosed with thalassaemia major at the age of 3 months and had undergone blood transfusions for 24 years! But four years ago, I had undergone a bone marrow transplant and had recovered after the hard time I had gone through. 

Chronic Care Center:

Before the transplant, I had received all my treatments at chronic care center (CCC) for thalassaemia and diabetes patients that is located in Beirut. Chronic care center provides the best care with very low charges and under the supervision of the best professional nurses and doctors who are always ready to give the patients their valuable advice. It also provides the latest medicines that remove ferritin from the body and for low prices to avoid the loads on parents and to give the chance to all patients to receive their treatments. Chronic care center has a professional medical social team of dentists, oculists and many other doctors that follows up with patients on their health and they provide the high quality of healthcare services. If I hadn’t the chance to receive my treatment at chronic care center, I wouldn’t have survived because there is no other place that offers the quality health care CCC does.  In chronic care center you feel like you are home because they always conduct social activities that entertain patients and raise their awareness.

Bone Marrow Transplant:

Four years ago, I had undergone the bone marrow transplant in American university of Beirut medical center and I had fully recovered and this had transformed my life from a patient who does transfusions every two weeks into a person who donates blood. 

Moments to remember:

I remember that when I was young, I always had the curiosity to check the name of the blood donor that is written on my blood bags and told myself that one day I would donate blood and my name will be written on these bags as a donor and not a patient. 

Blood donation:

Now I am doing phlebotomy to get rid of the iron that is stored in my body, but after that I will always donate blood to help my friends who are still having thalassaemia. I will conclude my story with some advice to all thalassaemia patients. Please take a good care of yourselves, listen to your doctors’ advice who are aware and they are following up on your cases, take your treatments regularly and eat healthy food that are not rich in iron and this will help your body. Take the medicine as your doctors’ prescription so you will avoid the ferritin storage in your liver, heart or spleen. So if some day God gives you the chance I had, you will be ready for the transplant and your body will have less risks and will recover faster. 

Dear friends, don’t forget to stay strong and have the faith in God who takes something but gives you many more other things instead!” 

 

 

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