Patient Stories
TAG Conferences
by Braulio Navarro (2009)
Braulio Navarro
4th grader
Hi, my name is Braulio, I’m ten, and I live in Washington State.
This year, I went to California for my sixth TAG conference. At the conference,
I met a lot of people with thalassemia. It makes me feel like I am not alone.
I liked talking to the doctors. My family goes the conferences so we can learn more about
new medicines and treatments.
Three tips that I learned from this trip:
- From Dr. Vichinsky: One hamburger = one extra day of chelation.
- From Abby Torkelson: At the conference, I asked Abby, “What do you do about your pump when you go through security at airports?” She told me to disconnect from the pump before passing through the security system and then reconnect it when I’ve passed through. This will avoid beeping and pat-downs. Also, I should always carry a doctor’s letter with me.
- Chelating is cool…don’t stop now!
I recommend these conferences to everyone because they are fun, you learn many new things, and you meet a lot of nice people. It is cool!
Braulio Navarro
4th grader
Washington State
