Hemostories Podcast

Holly sits down with Harvard-trained anesthesiologist Dr. Samuel Smith at his home in Santa Barbara, California. Together they discuss his connection to hematology and his experiences dealing with patients affected by hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. He details what a patient can do to prepare for surgery, how anesthesiologists prepare for a surgery of someone with a bleeding disorder, and which types of scenarios to avoid when dealing with a potential surgery if you have a bleeding disorder.

Josie interviews hemo-parents: Jen and Tyler Mertlich. Together they talk about the PEP conference where they all met. Tyler and Jen share their story of surprise as they became parents to a son with hemophilia, and discuss the ups and downs of hemophilia in their lives. The episode concludes with the story of the Mertlich’s nine year old son transitioning from away from a port in order to self administer his factor infusions at the young age of seven years old.

This episode begins with Josie and Holly discussing the brainstorm session that ultimately helped them select the first HemoHelper humanitarian project to help people affected by bleeding disorders in the developing world. Holly then interviews Adam Smith and 8 year old daughter, Olivia, who traveled to Guatemala to launch the first international outreach endeavor in an effort to fulfill the humanitarian aspect of HemoHelper’s mission. The Smiths arrived in Guatemala City on June 26, 2014 equipped with hundreds of medical ID cards, a supply of medical ID necklaces in an attempt to provide a means by which those with bleeding disorders could be identified in the case of an emergency. A potentially life-saving effort, that required no medical experience by the volunteers.

In this introductory episode of HemoStories you will hear from hosts Josie and Holly Olsen (sisters) talk about the background that led them to starting this podcast, the mission of HemoHelper, their connection to hemophilia, and what to expect in the future episodes. If you have a HemoStory of your own and would like to be featured, please contact us on our website: HemoHelper.com