The Reflection in the Mirror: Forging Identity and Self-Worth with a Chronic Condition
Looking Back at Myself: Finding Who I Am with Haemophilia It's funny, isn't it? When you live with something like haemophilia, it doesn't just affect your body; it really gets into your head and heart too. For so long, I felt like my identity was just... 'the kid with haemophilia.' It was like looking in a mirror and only seeing the condition, not the person behind it. And honestly, that can be a really tough place to be. I remember feeling so different from my friends. They'd be running around, playing sports, and I'd be sitting on the sidelines, worried about a bleed or just feeling too tired. It made me question so much about myself. Am I strong enough? Am I capable? Will anyone ever see past this thing I have? Those doubts can really eat at you, you know? But over time, something started to shift. It wasn't a sudden, dramatic change, more like a slow dawning. I began to realise that haemophilia is a part of my story, but it's not the *whole...