Give the gift of community this Christmas...

Newly Diagnosed Weekends bring families together to offer support, information and inspiration about living with a bleeding disorder.

Being told your child has a bleeding disorder can be a shock, leaving some parents feeling alone with unanswered questions and anxiety about the future.

Our Newly Diagnosed Weekends give parents a unique chance to connect with experts in bleeding disorders care as well as other families in the same situation. They also get to talk to young adults from The Society with a bleeding disorder who are living life to the full.

This free, informal event for the whole family allows parents to focus on the issues most important to them while we take care of everything else including a creche.

Rosie turned to The Society after her son Louie was diagnosed with severe haemophilia when he was just 8 months old.

Having a child diagnosed with a condition you know nothing about is a scary situation to be in. I was also sad about the future, confused at what it might bring, and I had so many questions.

What I really wanted to know was what it meant for day to day life, what can I do to make life easier? Going to the Newly Diagnosed Weekend really did change everything for our little family - the relief in meeting other families felt so good.

We left the weekend feeling like a weight had been lifted. Like we were part of something, part of a support network, part of a group of people facing the same thing. I didn't feel lonely anymore. I felt inspired.

Ellen, Josh and Austin's story

For Ellen, attending a Newly Diagnosed Weekend marked a turning point in how she deals with her son's haemophilia.

Austin was diagnosed with severe haemophilia A when he was a baby.

Ellen said: The whole weekend was brilliant but a highlight for me was meeting the youth ambassadors. Seeing young people living life normally, doing what they want to do, not letting anything stop them, that was a huge positive for us.

The first year of Austin being diagnosed was all about what he wouldn't be able to do. So, to meet young people with haemophilia who showed us that it doesn't stop them from doing what they want to do that was incredible.

The weekend gave us a completely different mindset. We left feeling positive, as if a huge weight had been lifted off us. We feel really lucky to have had this experience.

Can you help future families?

Please help us to continue to provide support for families in our community this Christmas could you make a donation to our Christmas Newly Diagnosed appeal? Together we can give practical and emotional support for the whole family, including dedicated time and space to meet and learn from medical experts and each other.