Columns

It happened after a month of celebrations. First, it was Christmas and New Year’s. Then, it was my husband Jared’s birthday. Five days later, our daughter, Cittie, turned 3. Plus, we had just moved to a new home next to some uncles who kept inviting us to relatives’ birthdays…

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women. Yet all of the studies I found on hemophilia and heart disease have studied only men. But essential lessons for women are in these studies, too. Today, National Wear Red Day, which symbolizes support for women’s heart health,…

The Sacramento Christian Camp and Conference Center lies in New Mexico’s Sacramento Mountains at an elevation of 9,500 feet. It offers fresh air and magnificent views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. I’ve been visiting the camp for over 15 years and still get caught up in the extraordinary…

My youngest son, Caeleb, called me to pick him up early from jazz band rehearsal last week. I could hear a hint of panic in his voice. Caeleb has complained of arm pain over the past few months, but it never seemed to be a big problem. I hoped it…

A sealed jar that no one can open. A faucet attachment that’s been screwed on too tightly. A piece of furniture that needs to be moved. These are just some of the problems we encounter at our home on a regular basis. And the one person who can solve them?…

The U.K. charity Veganuary challenges people to eat only vegan foods in the month of January as part of an effort to promote health, protect the environment, and end animal farming. People choose to follow a vegan diet, which excludes all animal products such as eggs, dairy, and meat,…

We find ourselves in a delightful spot regarding hemophilia. My youngest boy’s last internal bleeding episode occurred nearly eight years ago. Using prophylactic treatment, we’re managing his bleeding disorder well. My older son, who struggled with breakthrough bleeding episodes despite using a recombinant factor VIII product, now finds…

It’s hard to believe that my 16-year-old son, Caeleb, is moving into adulthood. He is not approaching adulthood, but moving toward it, and he still has much to learn about managing hemophilia. At a recent annual appointment at the hemophilia treatment center (HTC), a nurse quizzed him about what…

In Chinese philosophy, the concepts of yin and yang represent two opposing forces that come together in synergy to complement each other and create a perfect balance. Their symbols are interconnected black and white halves of a circle, each with a dot of the opposite half’s color. It perfectly…

January is my three-year “clotaversary,” a holiday I celebrate every year after surviving a life-threatening situation during a major surgery. I have von Willebrand disease (VWD) and hemophilia B, and without treatment, I’m at risk for dangerous bleeds during surgical procedures. In 2019, I needed a radical…