A rare blood disease, hemophilia can have serious consequences without treatment: nonstop bleeding, joint deformities, and death. Bombardier Blood tells the personal story of Chris Bombardier, a thirty-one-year-old male born with this genetic disorder. Growing up in Colorado, Chris is fortunate to be able to take advantage of the very expensive blood-clotting medicine known as Factor, which he takes two to three times per month. He will learn that in other countries this life-saving medicine is not available to all children.
While there are two types of hemophilia, type A and type B, Chris has type B, which is less common. Like other hemophiliacs, Chris’s parents are told at a young age he can’t play certain games and has to be careful not to injure or bruise himself. His parents describe how Chris was an active child and could never accept these limitations. He began to play baseball; in order to travel with the team in high school, Chris has to learn to give himself infusions. On one trip, Chris lands hard on his hip causing bleeding in his arm and leg. The coach tells him baseball is over for Chris.
Chris turns to his Uncle Dave, an outdoorsman who helps his nephew learn to enjoy backcountry trips: skiing, rock climbing, and even parachuting. After making a trip to Africa with his uncle and learning how many individuals lack treatment for hemophilia there, Chris decides to climb seven summits, the highest peak for each continent, to bring awareness and sponsorships for children with this disease. Chris carries a flag for each trip that says “Save One Life." With the support of his wife and family, Chris sets out to climb these lofty mountains, including Mount Everest.
Director Patrick James Lynch focuses on the climb up Mount Everest, with its extreme conditions and perilous challenges, and expertly shows Chris attempting to perform an infusion in the cold and wind while high up on the slopes of the mountain. Before Chris starts the climb, he meets individuals in Nepal with hemophilia and he asks them to sign his flag that he will take to the summit.
Cinematography is excellent and captures the sharp peaks, deep crevasses, and icy slopes of the mountain. For most of the ascent, Mount Everest poses magnificently under blue skies. Exhausted after 51 days, but encouraged by others to finish the remaining steps, Chris makes it to the summit. At the conclusion of Chris’s climbs, he raises over $250,000 and is able to support 100 children. Told with honesty and courage, Bombardier Blood is an inspiration for individuals who are told they can’t overcome obstacles. Recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P.