Bleeding Fabulous, Mark Ward, book review: ‘A heart-warming but cautionary tale’

Author Mark Ward. Photograph: courtesy Inkandescent Press

In May of this year, the long-awaited report of the Infected Blood Inquiry found that tens of thousands of people contracted HIV, hepatitis C and other diseases from contaminated blood products given to them on the NHS between 1970 and 1991.

It is estimated that approximately 3,000 have died as a result, with many more suffering from life-altering diseases.

Yet successive governments covered up what has been described as the “worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS”.

One of the many haemophiliacs affected by tainted blood products is Mark Ward, who tells his remarkable tale in Bleeding Fabulous, a memoir soon to be published by Hackney-based Inkandescent Press.

Ward was at the centre of the long-running campaign for justice for victims of the scandal.

When he was diagnosed with severe haemophilia at the age of three, the life expectancy for those with his condition was a mere 21, and this is without taking into consideration the dangers posed by contaminated blood.

He recounts how, in 1976, he began to receive the products responsible for so many infections against the stated wishes of his parents, who had wanted to keep him on his previous medication.

In 1983, he was diagnosed with HIV, and he later learned that he had also contracted hepatitis C during this period.

Ward lived in constant vigilance and pain, with extended stays in hospital occurring on a regular basis.

Yet from a young age he was also made to feel special, and he reacted to his illness by filling his life with as much activity and adventure as possible.

Ward is gay, and much of his campaigning work has involved getting the LGBTQI+ community recognised within the world of haemophilia support.

His ‘haemosexual’ activism has sought to help people who, like him, want to live full lives despite suffering from haemophilia, chronic life-threatening infections and the stigma associated with both disease and sexual diversity.

The memoir is narrated in an informal, chatty style, and one can imagine sitting in a pub with the ebullient author, listening to him speak the words on the page.

We absorb his sheer determination to enjoy life, even if ever on the brink of possible calamity.

In addition to the feel-good aspect of this survival story, there is also an undertone of dismay at how the health service treated those it injected with deadly diseases.

One of the most shocking aspects of Ward’s narrative is the callousness and obfuscation of so many healthcare practitioners who were involved in his care.

Bleeding Fabulous is a heart-warming read, but it is above all a cautionary tale for all those seeking medical treatment, showing the importance of active engagement with the decisions being made on one’s behalf.

Bleeding Fabulous by Mark Ward is published by Inkandescent Press, ISBN: 978-1-912620-33-3; RRP: £11.99.