Cole Hamstead (age 13) and Devin Banks (age 12) are cousins who enjoy playing baseball, basketball, golf, rowing crew and running cross country! These cousins were both diagnosed with severe Hemophilia shortly after birth (a lifelong bleeding disorder).
The boys will be participating in a Hemophilia Walk on April 14th in Ridley Creek State Park, PA to raise funds to help improve the lives of those with Hemophilia by finding better treatments, preventing the complications of the disorder and funding research for a CURE!
The treatment for Hemophilia A involves getting infusions into a vein in their hand or arm every other day to replace the missing clotting factor --which means over 180 needle "sticks" a year! The boys have been learning to do these infusions themselves over the past couple years which is an amazing accomplishment! This medication allows them to play the sports they love and to live like normal teens. In addition to dealing with the responsibility of managing their illness and treatments these boys have taken an active role in Hemophilia Advocacy by visiting lawmakers in Washington DC and in their states, doing presentations in school and fundraising through their Cousins for a Cure Walk Team for over 10 years.
WHY ARE WE ASKING FOR HELP? Although treatments for hemophilia are effective, they are cumbersome (ex. vein access every other day) and costly (ex. $60k per month). There have been AMAZING advances in past few years which involve long lasting medications (ex. 1 dose every 2 weeks) and clinical trials on gene therapy (ex. a permanent one-time "cure"). In gene therapy, the patient's genetic code will be reprogrammed to induce the body to produce proper clotting factors on its own.
Please make a donation today!
NOTE: Please remember that many companies will match donations made by employees so please submit a request to have your gift matched. This is a great way to make your gift go farther. Please notate "Cousins for a Cure" when you submit your gift match to your company.BANK OF AMERICA ASSOCIATES: Minimum donation of $25.00 required. Go to Flagscape and click on “Essential Links” at the bottom left of the screen. Select “Donate and Request Match” then search "Hemophilia" and select state "Pennsylvania". The Brandywine Valley Hemophilia Foundation will appear near the top of the list.
