Hemophilia 24/7 - a Column by Cazandra Campos-MacDonald

When my first son, Julian, was born in 1996 and diagnosed with severe hemophilia A, I thought my world was ending. I expected to give birth to a healthy baby boy. I never dreamed he’d have a medical condition. I went through the stages of grief: denial,…

Living with pain is exhausting. However, those living with pain have numerous ways to manage their condition, seeking relief through medication, physical therapy, massage, chiropractic care, and even hypnosis. Knowing the cause of that pain is helpful for doctors and patients as they work to find ways to cope and…

I consider myself a high-functioning adult. Living with depression, anxiety, and chronic pain brings quite a few challenges, yet I manage to keep moving. Add my son Caeleb’s bleeding disorder, and life can prove interesting. While managing our chronic conditions, I find that I rarely ask for…

When my kids were little, people reminded me to enjoy my children because they would be in college before I knew it. I never thought much about that sentiment. With both of my sons living with severe hemophilia, I felt like I was going from one thing to the…

My 16-year-old son, Caeleb, is on summer break. He told me that summer is a little too boring and the school year is a little too much. He is definitely a teenager. Next month he begins summer band, and boredom will become exhaustion. Caeleb is already concerned about marching…

Nothing makes me happier than when my oldest son, Julian, is home and my family is all under the same roof. We cook, laugh, and watch movies. My happy place is with my husband and two sons. One night over dinner, our conversation moved toward the high school band…

My husband and I are both United Methodist clergy, so our children are called PKs (pastors’ kids). Some PKs earn reputations for misbehaving, giving their parents plenty of gray hairs. Other PKs are kind and considerate, attend youth groups and Bible studies, and are seen as model children. My sons…

Caeleb, the child doctors said I’d never have, has changed my life. He is 16 and thinking about his future. That may sound like a normal thing for a 16-year-old, but I was unsure about his future with his hemophilia A. His life with this disease has been…

Spring is in the air. With flowers blooming and birds chirping, this time of year is filled with new life and new beginnings. It’s also graduation season, a time that brings hope. Families share loved ones’ accomplishments and celebrate the end of one season and the beginning of the next.

My biggest fear for my sons, who live with severe hemophilia, is an auto accident. When my oldest son, Julian, began to drive, I impressed upon him anew the importance of wearing a MedicAlert emblem. He wore it like dog tags for years when he was younger,…