Columns

I first met Connie Montgomery at the Hope Conference in Orlando, Florida, one of those rare moments when you instantly recognize a kindred spirit. Over lunch, we fell into deep conversation about women with bleeding disorders, the challenges we face, and the determination it takes to keep…

Moving is challenging. Moving means packing, having to decide what to keep and what not to keep, learning a new place, having to find a new grocery store, a new hair and nail salon, a new healthcare provider. Doing all that this time offered an opportunity to remember and…

I had previously heard about the term health anxiety obsessive-compulsive disorder (also known as hypochondriasis or illness anxiety disorder), so one day I decided to research its symptoms. Frequent visits to doctors and the emergency room, seeking reassurance that you are not ill from physicians, friends, and family, and…

As we observe National Family Caregivers Month, I’ve found myself reflecting on a column I wrote in which I admitted that the word “caregiver” never quite fit me. That piece was about rejecting a label that flattened our dynamic into something one-directional. But there’s another truth I didn’t explore…

The energy in the room was unmistakable. Before the official start of the Hope Conference in Orlando, Florida, last week, a group of women had been invited for a special preconference event — a day set aside just for us. It was marked by laughter, the sharing of stories,…

My last home had a great fence. It was a wall of concrete blocks surrounding my backyard and stood 7 feet high. With two dogs who bark at the wind blowing, the wall deterred them from jumping and kept some of their barking at bay. However, there was an iron…

Driving home from choir practice, I noticed that my pinky felt strange. It was really stiff, and I couldn’t bend it. When I rubbed the outside of my knuckle, it hurt a lot. By the time I arrived home, it was swelling and turning black and blue. I had no…

My husband, Jared, was 11 when hemophilia changed the course of his life. He wasn’t doing anything reckless — just being a boy, jumping around on his bed. Then came the misstep, the fall, the blow to his head. He brushed it off, not realizing that a slow, dangerous…

After every storm, there’s a moment when you think the hard part is over. The winds calm, the skies clear, and you take that first deep breath of relief — only to realize the real work is just beginning: the cleanup, the repairs, and waiting for things to return to…

I have a friend from middle school who has a special place in my heart. We call each other “friends of a lifetime.” Years can pass without us speaking to each other, but we pick up as if no time has passed at all. I am part of her family…