Columns

I love the smell of a freshly painted room. The roller soaks up the new color as it moves around in the pan, waiting to be rolled onto the wall in big, broad strokes. The walls must desperately need a fresh coat of paint to soak up the new color…

February is traditionally known as the month of love. Yet while Valentine’s Day is over, the act of appreciating loved ones knows no time or place. My husband, Jared, and I have been together for almost nine years. Our relationship is somewhat unconventional — he has hemophilia and a…

For the past few weeks, I’ve written about my youngest son’s hospitalization in Houston when he was 11 months old. In one of those columns, I shared about Caeleb’s complications from a bleeding episode because of his circumcision. Caeleb spent several weeks in the hospital and eventually had a…

Everyone experiences anxiety, yet not necessarily at the same level. When getting on an airplane, making a doctor appointment, or otherwise triggered, the anticipation and worry about what will happen can get the best of people. Some would argue that they do not have anxiety. It’s often these people who…

Last month, I had the pleasure of meeting another “HemoWife” at an event organized by the hemophilia organization that my husband, Jared, is involved with. Her name is Anne, and she’s married to Jundee, who has severe hemophilia A. She and I had a quick chat, during…

In the marketing world, we have a concept called the elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a short, persuasive speech delivered in the time it takes to ride an elevator, hence the name. The goal of an elevator pitch is to quickly and effectively communicate a person’s ideas, product, or…

Last week, I discussed the unfortunate series of events that led my wife and youngest son, Caeleb, to check into Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston because of a bleeding episode. Caeleb, it turned out, had a high-titer inhibitor that prevented clotting from occurring, even with the help…

I have fond memories of my dad sitting at the kitchen table on Sunday mornings. After attending church, he read the newspaper while the radio played his favorite Tejano music. He always read articles to my mom as they sat together, enjoying the morning. The crisp newspaper would buckle as…

Hello, hiring managers and human resources (HR) professionals! I’m writing this column to you, as the spouse of a person with disability (PWD). My husband, Jared, has severe hemophilia B and a seizure disorder, and we worked together at the same company for a year. I’ve also seen him…

As a person with von Willebrand disease (VWD) and hemophilia, bruises have been a near-constant presence in my life. VWD and hemophilia are bleeding disorders that affect the body’s ability to form blood clots and stop bleeding. Both can cause spontaneous and excessive bleeding, including bruising, heavy…