Impact Report
Denis
Denis
Location: Managua, Nicaragua
Denis at 18 is a good-looking guy with intense, expressive eyes. Quiet but confident, he doesn’t appear ill—yet he is one of approximately 300 people in Nicaragua known to have hemophilia. Hemophilia causes a protein deficiency in the blood, which prevents clots from forming. Patients like Denis frequently experience spontaneous internal bleeding, often in their joints. Uncontrollable bleeding can occur from small cuts or wounds.
Diagnosed at the age of one, Denis has struggled through the years with his illness. He’s never been more than two months between bleeding crises. His childhood was spent in and out of hospital. His illness is amplified by the general hardships of his family’s life. The youngest of seven children, he lives with his mother and sister in a tiny home with floors of damp earth, walls of ancient bare planks with wide gaps, lit by one light bulb hanging from a wire.
There are very few treatment options for low-income patients with hemophilia in Nicaragua. Fortunately for Denis, the one facility in all of Nicaragua specializing in his illness is located in Managua—the Red Cross Blood Hospital. Thanks to people like you who support our important work, NCC has secured a generous donation of ReFacto by Pfizer for patients at the Red Cross Blood Hospital. ReFacto supplies a form of the essential protein missing from hemophiliac’s blood. It works faster and eliminates the devastating side effects of other treatments.
Denis, to his intense relief, will receive the donated ReFacto. Now, because he has access to more modern treatment options he has new confidence that his crises’ can be managed. He has begun thinking about his future. A senior in high school, Denis’ favorite class is English. He hopes to graduate and find a way to become a translator one day. His overriding goal is to create a better and easier life for his mother and himself.
Make a donation today and help other boys like Denis look towards a brighter future.
Join The Coalition Today
A gift today means that:
- Patients like Denis can receive the treatment they desperately need.
- We can continue our work in Nicaragua and other countries.
- Patients with hemophilia will live fuller, more independent lives.
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