Things I like about having VWD

Coz there are so many things not to like, right? But I know for me, if I only focused on the bad things, I’d probably be depressed most of the time. So here are some things I like:

I know how my body works to a greater extent than most other people. Specifically, how blood works, and whats normal. And most people don’t. Hey, a lot of medical professionals don’t (I’m sure you’ve all had that experience!). And that can only be a good thing. I’m sure the day will come I have serious, life threatening injury or problem, and I’ll already know what needs to be done, no tests or scans needed. I even liked it as a teenager - I had specialist knowledge no one else did. Once it allowed me to help out a classmate who had diabetes and no one else knew about how to use needles!

Following on from that, I’ll know what to look out for when I have kids. My mum is also a sufferer, but wasn’t diagnosed, so I am the first in my family to be diagnosed. I’ve essentially been the guinea-pig in finding out about VWD, what works for me and my type of VWD etc. But when I have kids, I know it all already. I’ll be able to get them tested as soon as their born, and be prepared for their whole life to help them out. When I found out about the VWD, it was a huge relief just knowing there was a reason for my symptoms, and that it is treatable. I’m really happy knowing about VWD so any kids I might have won’t have to go through years of injuries/bad periods like I did.

Like the Panic at the Disco song says, lying is the best fun a girl can have. And I do lie - about the origins of bad bruises! I actually take a bit of fun out of making up stories about how I get them. Lets face it, some of them can be quite painful, and can take weeks to heal properly, so I like to find an up-side to it. And they get progressively more insane too - its like chinese whispers, I just wait and see how stupid each person is, if they actually believe what I’m telling them! Its never anything that could get me or anyone else into trouble, so I like having some fun with it!

As an Australian, if you’re traveling anywhere in the world, it usually means at least an 8hr plane trip, but thanks to VWD, I’m at much lower risk of deep vein thrombosis than my fellow travelers! No stupid looking leg warmers for me!

Has anyone else been in a situation where having VWD came in handy?