You might not think to put “haemophilia” and “weightlifting” in the same sentence, but for Tim Demos this has been a way to develop his passion for exercise and keeping healthy.
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Tim is in his mid 20s and has severe haemophilia A.  He has been a full-time paramedic for the past 5 years and describes himself as “feeling passionately” about physical exercise. He explains that paramedics have one of the highest rates of work-related injuries compared to many other jobs and therefore, staying healthy is very important to him regardless of having haemophilia.
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He played basketball for over 10 years and although he “loved every moment of it”, he experienced reoccurring bleeds and it left his ankles in a “less than perfect condition”. He doesn’t regret playing basketball, but when he finished playing, he needed to find a new form of exercise, and then came weightlifting. Regular exercise and its influence on mental and social health and wellbeing is very important to him: “exercise helps you maintain a happy and healthy state of mind”.
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Tim is no stranger to setbacks and explains that there have been times when he has been recovering from a bleed and had to change his exercise from weightlifting to swimming “certainly not my first preference of exercise but it’s about training smartly and with purpose”.
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For Tim, having haemophilia has taught him how to persevere with his exercise regime.
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“I was in and out of hospital in Year 9 and it was a pretty rough time for me. It has taken a lot of perseverance, and it’s a condition that means you learn very quickly to have a certain level of resilience.”
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These are life lessons he is happy to share with other young people with bleeding disorders.
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“As a kid I remember coming to the realization in primary school that hang on not everyone has this… and then you realize you are pretty different. I got involved in the family camps as a young kid and that was probably one of the best things for me – meeting other kids with haemophilia.”  Â
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Tim continues to attend the camps as a Youth Leader and has been a role model for many younger kids.
HFNSW AGM 2024
join us for the2024 Annual General Meeting & Information Evening When: Thursday 7th November 2024, at 6 PMWhere: HFNSW Office