Columns

Keep Your Hands and Feet to Yourself

Perhaps the most important lesson we learn at school is to keep our hands and feet to ourselves. I have thought about this rule every time my sons have complained about an incident at school. I remember my kindergarten teacher, Miss Paula, teaching my class that lesson. Best.

Battling the Monsters Together

Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. Some take the form of needles that terrify young children. Others terrorize us as we battle chronic illnesses. Scary creatures reveal themselves and change us because of the horrors they bring into our lives. Ghosts and shadows leave us breathless and…

What I Want for My Future Child

Time flies so surprisingly fast. It just dawned on me that I’ll be a father in three months; my wife, Cza, is already 26 weeks into her pregnancy. There’s a lot of pressure, but I hope that my kid can be proud to have me as a father. It’s of…

Talking to Our Future Daughter About Hemophilia

I’m 25 weeks pregnant. Now that I’ve passed the halfway point of my pregnancy, I’m full of thoughts about the future. What happens when I give birth? After I give birth? When it sinks in that we are parents? Based on my ultrasound scans, it looks like we will have…

A Not-So-Healthy Dose of Nerves

My youngest son continues to celebrate good health. The last time he suffered a joint bleed was in February 2014. A million years seem to have passed since the days of horrific bleeds and endless hospital visits. We used to know every nurse by name on the pediatric…

Invisibility Is Not the Easy Way

I loved watching the Harry Potter movies with my sons, especially the earlier ones where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were much younger. The magic and wonder of wizards and Quidditch were fun to imagine. I especially liked Harry’s invisibility cloak. “Mom,” my son said, “wouldn’t that be cool?”…

How I’ve Combined Being a New Bride with Volunteering

My husband Jared mentioned in his latest column that he works at a local organization called the Hemophilia Association of the Philippines for Love and Service (HAPLOS). It is truly a pleasure to serve other people with hemophilia, along with their families and carers, through the organization’s efforts.