Patient Stories

Kenneth Franke's Story

Kenneth Franke Pursues His Dream of Sports Coaching and Manages His Hemophilia

Kenneth Franke takes his love of sports to a new level by learning to become a coach—and managing his hemophilia in order to do it.

Kenneth Franke attends the CIOS (the Central Institute for Educating Sport Coaches), and although he has hemophilia, he does not find it out of the ordinary that he aims to be a sports instructor. While the school may have a difference of opinion, Kenneth points out his annoyance at having to sign a medical waiver, while other students with medical conditions do not, he has pursued a life-long interest in sports to the fullest in his young life. And, according to his mother Mies, “Kenneth is like any other teenager, as long as he gets his clotting factor.”

When Kevin was 10 months old, he was diagnosed with hemophilia. Mies saw that her son was very active. “I thought it would be good if Kenneth would swim, not just to be active, but also to strengthen his muscles. The stronger the muscles, the better they protect the joints. He does have a limitation but you have to just deal with it in a practical way—we don’t pity him.” She also taught him how to fall. Mies thinks falling the correct way and making yourself strong are extremely important for children with hemophilia. In the evenings, she tried to have Kenneth sit still with a game or a book. “At night, kids are tired and hungry and mommy is busy making dinner. Those are exactly the moments when accidents happen.”

Mies changed her life after Kenneth’s diagnosis. She gave up her job and started a new position as a secretary close to the outpatient ward at the Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

She thinks inconveniences are just part of life. “Make something out of it,” she says. “Kenneth, like other kids, had trouble injecting at first. We would all count to three and shout OUCH really loudly. Often, I would bring some candies or we would all eat a snack afterwards.”

The family has missed out on things as well. Mies says, “For example, you look for treatment centers, before you look for campgrounds.” Mies tells the story that when Kenneth was very young and the canals were frozen. She did not allow Kenneth to go skating. “I thought he would hit his head on the ice and die. So he stood with his nose pressed against the window and had to stay home to play with his cars inside. And then it happened—he hit his head hard on the side of the table and we had to go to the hospital. It could just as easily happen inside our home. So, I ended up going on the ice with him and he learned to skate. Sometimes you have to try things, after taking the necessary precautions,” she says.

Kenneth went to an open house at the CIOS, while in high school to see if he could enroll. The counselor said it would not be a problem. He went back the next year and was sure this was the school he wanted to go to. His family was not surprised that he chose a sports-related school, as Kenneth had always been into sports. Kenneth’s condition does not affect his ability to study at the school. He does not suffer bleeds as long as he adapts his injections to his schedule. If the schedule changes, he adjusts the timing of his injections. Mies adds, “He used to play sports because he injected, but now he injects because he plays sports.”

Kenneth says, “Next year, I will do an internship at a rehabilitation facility. I want to become a therapist, teaching people to deal with a limitation through engaging in sports. I want to let people know that a chronic illness does not have to get you down and sports can help in that.”