April 17th is World Hemophilia Day, and for one Humboldt family, the importance of that day is not lost.

Eight-year-old Jayden Lockhart was born with the blood disorder. He is missing a critical protein in his blood that helps it to clot, and so for the young man, there are many potential complications that can arise in his day to day life. His parents, Justin and Vanessa Lockhart, claim that Jayden is a rough and tumble boy like any other, but they admit that they and Jayden must take precautions. 

Justin Lockhart explains, "If he falls or if he gets bumped or bruised, it's a bit more of a concern because his body's not clotting."

It also means that Jayden has to adhere to a rigorous treatment schedule at a bleeding disorder clinic in Saskatoon. Lockhart outlines the program, "We do three intravenous treatments every week. It provides him with the factor to help the body clot. His clotting levels are less than .01 percent, and the average person is anywhere from 50 - 100 %. The treatment brings his factor up to just over one percent, but that's enough that if he has bleeding in his joints, which are the biggest concern, it helps to slow the bleeding down."

Lockhart confesses that when Jayden was born, there was a high degree of concern. As the Lockharts became more knowledgeable and as Jayden grew, they have come to realize that, for the most part, he is living a normal day to day life. That doesn't mean there are no limitations. Justin Lockhart knows, "With things like hockey, he's got to be a bit more cautious. As the kids get bigger and faster, he's not going to be able to play at that level."

To the Lockharts, World Hemophilia Day is about awareness and supporting the causes that lead to research breakthroughs. One of the misconceptions is that an individual with hemophilia bleeds more, but the reality is that, because of the reduced or missing clotting factor, the individual simply bleeds longer.  Lockhart notes that research is providing answers, "In the days of the tainted blood scandal, life expectancy for someone with hemophilia was significantly shorter than somebody without.  The improvements they've made over the last 10 -20 years have been dramatic to the point that they're mostly living everyday lives."

For more information on World Hemophilia Day and the disorder, click on hemophilia.ca.