Stories

Swimming with the sharks

Mon 16 Jul 2012

I recently travelled to the beautiful country town of Exmouth in Western Australia’s North Coast as part of a radio competition my fiancĂ© won.  The best tip I can give you for travelling (when you have a bleeding disorder) is to be prepared!

I was asked by the airline for a letter from my doctor to carry my factor with me on the plane. They don’t usually ask this when flying domestically but as I learned, it’s best to be prepared just in case. I also think it’s a good idea to keep your factor VIII in mind when packing because you don’t want to leave it at home.

When we arrived in Exmouth my first impressions were how isolated and desolate it looked, with its two planes at the tiny airport and small amount of workers. Our resort was a little over 30 minutes away from the airport, all around us was the makings of a mining community with very spread out workplaces and lots of vacant land.

We spent a day swimming with the biggest fish in the ocean. The Whale Shark was amazing. We swam with four of the gentle creatures all around 5 metres in length but seeming to be a lot bigger. Being in 20 metre deep water was not for the faint hearted and we weren’t alone, we swam along with stingrays, manta rays, dugongs, dolphins and had the rare opportunity of watching a pod of Humpback Whales swim next to our boat. We were treated like royalty by the crew of the “Keshi-mur” enjoying fresh seafood, chicken, ham and all the salad and snacks we could fill up on. Even though swimming with the sharks wasn’t a strenuous activity, I still made sure I had some factor VIII before we left for the boat.

All and all it was a massive holiday, whether we were just lazing by the pool or swimming with 5 metre sharks, it sure beat being back in reality and working haha… I think the most important thing to know is that having a bleeding disorder doesn’t stop you from travelling.  I encourage any young person to travel but to make sure you contact your haemophilia centre to find out what you have to do before you go. Finally, always remember to take a sharps container – you can get travel size ones now.



Submit your story to Factored In

You can also upload a video and a photo, just make sure you look over and understand ‘read me first’!

READ ME FIRST

Please read this important information before you upload!

Under 18?

If you are under 18 and would like to upload a story, image or video that identifies who you are, we require your parent or guardian to send an email to factoredin@haemophilia.org.au stating that they give their permission for your story, image or video to be published. We have to do this for your privacy and protection. Or you parents can download this form and send it to us.

Anyone else under 18?

Also, if you are using a story, image or video that identifies someone else who is under 18, you will need to get their parents’ consent. You can ask their parents to email us at factoredin@haemophilia.org.au  or download this form and send it to us

Parents can simply copy and paste this into an email and fill in the blanks …
I, (parent/guardian name here) give permission for (son/daughter name here)’s story, image or video titled (put title here) to be published on Factoredin.org.au. I also give permission for HFA to reproduce the story/image/video in other HFA publications, reports or web site.

Identify anyone at all?

Finally, if you are using a story, image or video that identifies someone of any age, you will need their consent as well and they can provide this by emailing us at factoredin@haemophilia.org.au or downloading this form and send it to us.

Anyone over 18 can simply copy and paste this into an email and fill in the blanks …
I, (put name here) give permission for my story, image or video titled (put title here) to be published on Factoredin.org.au. I also give permission for HFA to reproduce the story/image/video in other HFA publications, reports or web site.

How can I get around this, I hear you ask? Don’t make yourself or anyone else identifiable!

This is the title of your story - get creative (don't just use your name!)




Have you used images or music?:

Security Code:


Search Stories by Category

Other