Thanks to weekly plasma infusions, Austin can live a healthy life
Without blood, Austin wouldn’t have survived his first month of life. At five days old, he couldn't wake, feed or cry, and was diagnosed with severe haemophilia. Due to this diagnosis, Austin requires infusions every two days, administered by his mum Francina, and will do so for the rest of his life.
Francina appeared to have a perfect pregnancy, but her instincts told her otherwise. “Even though everyone told me he would be born perfectly fine, in my heart I knew something was wrong with my baby.”
Unfortunately for Francina, her gut feeling was right -- at just a few days old, Austin was diagnosed with severe Haemophilia.
After five weeks in NICU, Francina was told she’d finally be able to take her baby home. “We packed our bags as fast as we could, but as we went to leave, we were stopped by a doctor.” Austin’s body had developed an inhibitor, meaning he was rejecting his medication. Francina was devastated. “He was like glass just waiting to break.”
It would take a hospital transfer, surgery and another two weeks for Francina to finally bring Austin home. For the next six months, she spent hours driving him to and from the hospital every day to receive his treatment. It would be another three years before it was safe for Austin to have a bath above his belly button, let alone swim.
“We take for granted the smallest things in life; like tucking our kids into bed. But I’ll never take Austin’s donors for granted. They’ve given me the gift of watching my son grow up -- without them, he wouldn’t be alive.”
Even as a baby, Austin needed well over a hundred plasma donations to make just enough medication for a week. He still needs an infusion every second day. Quite simply, without plasma donations, Francina would have never brought her baby home from the hospital. And for that gift, Austin’s donors will never know how much she appreciates them.
The need for plasma is real, and it’s easy to donate. Learn more about donating plasma.
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