Although Phil tries not to let HH interfere with his daily life, he does know that he relies on monthly treatments to prevent pain, and sometimes other severe health issues. He is never upset that he has been diagnosed with HH, but sometimes asks why. Being that HH is a sex-linked recessive disease, the likelihood of him getting it was not high. He wonders why he was faced with this awful disease, while no one else in the family was. Only 0.5% of all caucasian people (other races are at extremely low risk for HH) carry two copies of the mutated gene, so he asks " why me"?
Right now, Phil's health issues are not a major concern. He gives a pint of blood every few months so that his iron levels may decrease, but as he gets older, he will be at larger risks for different diseases. These may include liver failure, arthritis, pancreatic damage, damage to the adrenal glands, and even impotency. All of these awful diseases are a direct result of the build up of iron in tissue and organs. This build up causes damage, which results in these potentially life threatening diseases. Although thoughts of his future health may be in the back of Phil's head, he keeps living his life the way he wants to; Full of joy and happiness.
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