Living with Haemophilia

, For the most part we. the haemophiliacs present at this Congress. have come from the great metropolitan centres with their advanced medical and social programmes for sufferers of haemophilia. We. the fortunate from the haemophilia oasis. have much to learn from each other. This is important. but even more important is the urgency to convey your knowledge. your skills. your experience and your dedication to the haemophiliacs in the desert: 'We can only begin to understand the condition. the life of a sufferer. by comparing him to a soldier in the trenches of World War I. In the trenches the soldier seldom forgets that the next moment may bring death or crippling. The haemophiliac is literally in the trenches. The soldier may be spared injury. but pain awaits the haemophiliac. Fear. moreover, is paramount to the pain. As in the trenches. the anxiety can be more oppressive than the wound. Waiting to go over the top imposes a greater strain than the actual charge. For the soldiers that survived World War I in the trenches. 4 years seemed eternity; the haemophiliac never leaves the battlefield: Opening Address, Frank Schnabel. World Federation of Hemophilia. Copenhagen. June 25th. 1963. War can come to an oasis, peace can come to the trenches. With this book, Dr Peter Jones has joined the international struggle. Carefully, concisely and cogently. the text offers a grand strategy. With allies like Dr Jones we will, one day, achieve victory. Frank Schnabel, Chairman.