A mum said her "heart sank" and she "felt sick with worry" after finding her baby boy covered in bruises.
Danielle Makinson, 30, and her husband Ian, 32, who live in Ormskirk, first noticed something wasn't quite right with their nine-month-old baby boy, Ryan, when they started finding multiple bruises all over his legs in February 2022. As the bruises coincided with Ryan learning to crawl, the parents didn't worry too much about small marks on his legs and decided to keep an eye on him.
Around three weeks later the parents noticed more bruising on their baby boy, this time under his lip, and another under his arm. Danielle rang her GP after noticing lumps under the surface of the bruising.
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The 30-year-old business owner said: "When I saw the nasty lump under his lip I had no idea where he would have got it from. Then when the lump was under his arm, I got worried.
"It was weird because he wasn't crying or anything. It was bruises with lumps underneath. It was like new bruises would appear as quick as others healed. At first I was worried it was from us picking him up. After calling the GP they said they couldn't fit us in for a few days. They didn't seem too worried but I knew something wasn't right.
"I kept thinking about it and I just had this gut feeling that he needed to be taken to A&E. I was worried about taking Ryan to the hospital because I was worried thinking what if they [doctors] thought it was me doing this to him."
Danielle and Ian took Ryan to Ormskirk District General Hospital's A&E department and after a series of blood tests the couple were asked to step into a private room by the doctor where they were told their son had haemophilia, a rare condition that affects the blood's ability to clot.
There's no cure for haemophilia but people can live with the diagnosis with treatment and changes to their everyday life. At the time, Danielle and Ian had never heard of the condition and told the ECHO they were "really scared".
Danielle said: "When they asked us to go into the room and a nurse was looking after Ryan, my heart sank and we were so scared because we didn't know what haemophilia was. We were just told he had a life-long condition with no cure and we burst into tears.
"We were sent to Alder Hey, which was already involved with the bloods being sent over to them, and we learned more about it and realised that yes, it was a big deal, but it's treatable.
"He stayed at Alder Hey for a further two nights while more tests took place and some medication was given. They were absolutely amazing with us and gave us all of the information we needed."
Ryan's condition means he needs to have bi-weekly injections and will not be able to take part in contact sports such as football and rugby as he grows up due to having a higher risk of internal bleeding.
Danielle said: "It is really scary, one bad bump to the head could cause him to have a brain bleed. The nursery he goes to are brilliant with him and so are family and friends. But it does always cross your mind."
The family now want to rise awareness of haemophilia while also fundraising for The Haemophilia Society which helped them come to terms with Ryan's diagnosis. After Ryan was diagnosed, the family was referred to the organisation which helps anyone affected by a bleeding disorder. The family recently went on a trip with other families whose children have the condition.
Danielle said the trip "helped their family so much" and inspired Ian, who used to work as a pilot out of Manchester Airport for Jet2, to organise a charity skydive on behalf of them to raise vital funds. Ian has raised almost £2,000 on his JustGiving page.
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