I am Anna, and this is the story of Vincenzo, a GT boy born on 12 December 2005 in Naples, Italy.
At birth, after a long labor, Vincenzo was born with natural birth, without complications; he presented a great bruise on the back, petechiae all over the body, also in the eyes, there were broken capillaries; I asked for explanations, and they told me that in the effort to get it out they had pushed to cause these little traumas that would go away within a few days.
After three days, we returned home with these bruises still evident, and they told me to be patient, that he was a healthy child and everything would be fine.
The days passed, Vincenzo began to improve, and the bruises faded, but I noticed that others were made, even if only by changing his diaper even when delicate; I took him to the pediatrician for the first check-up and to make his acquaintance, he was almost three months, at the visit she noticed these bruises and not knowing me told me to take the child immediately to the emergency room because if it wasn’t me who hurt him and he said it to me with a doubtful air, there was something wrong.
After a week of waiting for a hematological examination, I immediately took him to the emergency room, and various samples told me that he was anemic, that it was normal for a newborn, and that he had a capillary fragility that would improve as he grew.
The months passed, but the situation did not improve; we went from bruises to nosebleeds; at six months, he had another checkup, and they told me the same things; at nine months, he had dark stools, suspected internal bleeding that after a few days of hospitalization the situation was quiet they sent us home, he was almost ten months old, and there was no improvement, so I decided to take him to Pavia I had heard excellence in the hematology field, but while I was thinking, my pediatrician always sent me to Pausillipon in Naples for the 3rd time but with another doctor who is currently our hematologist, after a few months he diagnosed us with GT.
In the meantime, Vincenzo grew up, and it wasn’t easy at all; we found every little tooth that came out, especially in the morning when we woke up in a pool of blood, then the nose destroyed us at three years old, we thought we would lose it, hemoglobin reached four because in the hospital did not know well the Novoseven procedure and after transfusions, Novoseven and platelets, tampons, it stopped, after almost ten days we returned home, and since then between bleeding, nose, mouth due to tonsils, teeth, I decided that I had to study the protocol well and I do not hide from you that many times in the hospital it is I who have given indications to the nurses and doctors, since my doctor does not work in the emergency room but at Pausillipon which is dedicated to blood diseases and is also oncology and unfortunately it cannot be accessed without first passing to the emergency room we go there only for checks.
However, the story is long Vincenzo is now 14 years ago, I could say he has a normal life, he knows his limits and is accepted by everyone, he talks quietly about his problem he is loved by his friends, he is very good at school, and I am proud of him he is a wise little man and strong, he never cries, and in the hospital, he is a leader he lets himself do everything without objecting, our GTs are special.
