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I’ve always had a hard time handling disappointment. I grew up labeled a high achiever and was accustomed to meeting high expectations. I feared disappointing other people, or feeling that my best efforts just weren’t enough. As a result, I became sensitive to disappointment, rejection, and failure — a fearsome…

Kendall Fitzpatrick and I have much in common. Like me, she has hemophilia B and von Willebrand disease. She’s a registered nurse, works for a specialty pharmacy, and is an outspoken advocate for women with bleeding disorders. She lives in New Kent, Virginia, and is mother to a…

My youngest son, Caeleb MacDonald, is a 16-year-old with hemophilia and chronic joint pain. Several times this year, the pain has become so intense that he cannot get out of bed. I cannot help but associate his new pain issues with his earlier years, when he suffered multiple…

There’s a freedom children have when they swing. Sometimes they need a little push, but before long, they learn how to push themselves. The sounds of chains squeaking and shoes scraping the dirt are imprinted in my mind. Swinging higher and higher is always the goal. Hair flies in the…

My husband, Jared, and I are in an interesting stage of our parenting journey. Our daughter, who is almost 4, will be going to preschool soon, but for now, she spends almost every day with us at home. She has a rather introverted temperament, so most of the…

I recently watched the eight-episode Canadian drama miniseries “Unspeakable,” which was inspired by real events and first televised a few years ago. The series is the creation and passion of Robert C. Cooper, a writer and producer best known for his work on the television series “Stargate…

On Monday, the preschool at my church celebrated Halloween, complete with little goblins, ghosts, and other assorted creatures. The children bragged about their costumes, saying, “Look, Pastor Joe, I’m a princess. Look, Pastor Joe, I’m a ferocious Samurai warrior.” They looked terrific, and I asked them if they wanted a…

Growing up in Texas meant Friday night football games. It’s a religion there. As a girl in elementary school, I’d go with my family to games — not so much to watch football as to see the halftime show. But I found myself enamored with the cheerleaders. They were athletic…

My husband, Jared, had a knee bleed last week. The moment he felt the familiar twinge in his joint, he performed his usual treatment regimen: a factor infusion and bed rest. We thought we’d simply wait it out without doing anything special besides resting the injury…

I have von Willebrand disease (VWD) and hemophilia B, a less common form of hemophilia that arises when a blood-clotting protein called factor IX is missing or deficient. Hemophilia is often thought of as a condition that only affects men, but women can and do have it, too.