Columns

It’s easy to look back and think about what one could have done differently. Handling a crisis with grace rather than anger, calling the doctor immediately instead of waiting, or keeping a diagnosis secret to avoid others’ judgment. We all make mistakes and, hopefully, we learn from them. Forgetting…

Many of us have been there. We’ve walked into a medical office in pain, seeking relief. As the doctor completes an evaluation, we are asked that common and potentially problematic question: “Please rate your pain on a scale of 1 to 10.” I hate pain…

There is never a time that I do not worry about my sons. “MacDonald the Older” is 23, but not a day goes by that I do not feel concern for his welfare. The phrase “don’t do anything stupid” keeps running through my head. Will I get a call from…

It’s quite difficult to focus on any sense of positivity when bleeds become more frequent. After a bleed-free streak that lasted over six months, it was easy to be disappointed when hemophilia made me feel vulnerable and weak again. It’s not all that bad, though. At times, being bedridden results…

Raising two sons with hemophilia has taught me to be flexible. I have learned that my best attempts to make plans can be thrown out the window in an instant at the onset of a bleed. Treating a bleed, going to the hospital, or accommodating a rigorous infusing schedule take…

Dear Hemophilia Parent, Today, I write to you. I am a child with hemophilia. I am taking the liberty of speaking on behalf of your child, who may be 2 days, 2 years, or 20 years old. First and foremost, you are awesome, and I…

As I pen this column, my husband, Jared, and I are celebrating a full year of marriage. It’s been a blissful one, with so many milestones reached and memorable moments experienced. Our baby, Cittie, was born six months ago, and since then, life has been tremendously different — in an…

In my experience, raising two children with a chronic illness includes the usual worries that parents and other primary caregivers often face. It also creates issues that directly address medical needs and concerns related to treatment. For instance, not every family deals with spontaneous bleeding into the joints. For…

I have big dreams for my sons. I want them to go to college, have successful careers, and find loving partners. I hadn’t thought that these things would be out of reach for either of them. But I did believe at one time that my mighty warrior Caeleb would be…

An opportunity arises Five years ago, Ashley Gregory was asked to head The Female Factor (TFF), a program sponsored by the Hemophilia Foundation of Northern California (HFNC). According to Ashley, this opportunity brought her out of her shell and helped her to discover an affinity and…