{"id":15226,"date":"2018-03-05T19:26:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T19:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/2018\/03\/05\/miracle-of-hemophilia-drugs-comes-at-a-steep-price\/"},"modified":"2018-03-05T19:26:00","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T19:26:00","slug":"miracle-of-hemophilia-drugs-comes-at-a-steep-price","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.us\/content\/miracle-of-hemophilia-drugs-comes-at-a-steep-price\/","title":{"rendered":"Miracle Of Hemophilia Drugs Comes At A Steep Price"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jenny Gold<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

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\n Jessica Morris prepares to inject a blood-clotting protein into son Landon’s arm at their home in Yuba City, Calif.<\/p>\n

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Heidi de Marco\/Kaiser Health News<\/p>\n

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Heidi de Marco\/Kaiser Health News<\/p>\n

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When Landon Morris was diagnosed with hemophilia shortly after birth, his mother, Jessica Morris, was devastated. “It was like having your dreams \u2014 all the dreams you imagined for your child \u2014 just kind of disappear,” she recalled.<\/p>\n

Hemophilia, a rare bleeding disorder caused by a gene mutation that prevents blood from clotting properly, is typically passed from mother to son. Morris’ grandfather had it, and she remembered hearing how painful it was. “It was almost like he was bubble-wrapped,” she said. “He was coddled, because his mom didn’t want him to get hurt.”<\/p>\n

But Landon’s life turned out to be much different than she expected.<\/p>\n

“He’s wild. He’s probably sometimes the roughest of them all,” she said, as she watched the 6-year-old race around a park in Yuba City, Calif., where the family lives. “He leads a totally normal life. He plays T-ball. He’ll start soccer in the fall. He runs and jumps and wrestles with his brothers.”<\/p>\n

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\n Landon Morris plays in the pool with his brothers. “He runs and jumps and wrestles with his brothers,” says his mom, Jessica Morris.<\/p>\n

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Heidi de Marco\/Kaiser Health News<\/p>\n

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His active approach to life is made possible by his medication \u2014 the kind that wasn’t available in his grandfather’s day. For the Morris family, this type of drug \u2014 broadly known as clotting factor \u2014 is a miracle, helping Landon’s blood clot normally. And its cost is almost entirely covered by his father’s federal employee health plan.<\/p>\n