Columns

Last month, I had the privilege and the honor of being one of 60 attendees at the Mild Matters Summit in Tulsa, Oklahoma, organized by the Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA). The summit aimed to empower those with mild bleeding disorders by providing essential information and tools to…

The holiday season is upon us. Often, we have our meal around a table with people we love, and we give thanks for one another’s company. The holidays are all about rituals — preparing feasts, gathering to exchange gifts, and focusing on the things that unite us. Year after…

A phone call in the wee hours of the morning makes the heart skip a beat, as it often brings bad news. A baby crying in the middle of the night means a sleep-deprived parent going through the motions of changing diapers and warming bottles. When the quiet hours of…

My husband, Jared, is a diligent worker and constant high achiever. An honor student in school, he has since excelled in various fields. From running a business to trying his hand at voice acting and cooking, he’s a jack of all trades in the most complete form of the…

Raising two sons with a bleeding disorder has given me hundreds of stories. Many of them lead to happiness and gratitude. Others are filled with pain and suffering. They are all a part of me in a way I never imagined they would be. The nice thing about having so…

One ordinary evening, while a dear cousin and I relaxed in my living room, we delved into a profound conversation about purpose. We pondered why some people who struggle with mental health would cling to altruistic pursuits despite financial challenges they may have, especially since those challenges could create more…

In the realm of hemophilia, I believe the current classification system oversimplifies a far more intricate reality. Severe, moderate, and mild hemophilia are classifications based on the amount of clotting factor present in a person’s blood. Hemophilia is a genetic disorder that impairs the blood’s ability…

Some years back, my two sons packed their suitcases and Caeleb, the youngest, said, “All right, it’s time to go on a Daddy-and-son madcap adventure.” My wife had a speaking engagement out of town, which meant the MacDonald boys were going to set out on their own, together on the…

I do love Thanksgiving season. Families gather, food is shared, and quality time is priceless. But not everyone enjoys the holidays. In them, we’re encouraged to live a life filled with thanks, a life of thanksliving. Ugh. Yes, it’s a nice thought, but sometimes it’s enough to distract…

Whenever I scroll through my Instagram feed, I often reflect on the “what ifs” in my life. For example, what if my life had unfolded exactly as I had envisioned it during my youth? As a child, I was a dreamer with countless aspirations. I envisioned living in a different…