This story is brought to you by our friends at HAE Junior in the Czech Republic.
I think that the best gift is one that will please not only the recipient, but also all those who love him. In our story, I’d like to tell you about the best gift we received: freedom. As our daughter’s health has improved significantly during the last few months, the old life under the rule of hereditary angioedema (HAE) seems like a bad dream to us now.
What has our life been like in the past few years? Our daughter terribly suffered from frequent HAE swellings, repeatedly missed school, and was often sick. The disease kept her bedridden regularly for several days. When she was in the third grade, she was absent from school so often that she almost couldn’t even make it for the substitute tests. Because of the repeated HAE attacks, she received a large number of injections for acute treatment. Such a high frequency of swellings meant regular canceling or limiting our plans related to work duties, school, family celebrations, vacation, etc. And instead, we always had to initiate the first-aid scenario. Anytime, anywhere.
At the end of last year, with the support of a physician from a specialized HAE center, our daughter was given a new treatment. And that’s how the period without any swellings started. This experience has become a precious gift of freedom not only for our daughter, but also for the entire family. And we are extremely grateful for it!
-Mother of a teenage patient with HAE
