Columns

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…

Now and then, my husband, Jared, loses consciousness and falls to the ground. To an unknowing onlooker, the sight is alarming. Some wonder if he has fainted. Others worry about his heart or think he may have had a stroke. As his wife of one year and partner for five,…

I recently noticed that our healthcare providers offer virtual visits as part of our current insurance. I was fortunate last week to attend an event hosted by the Virginia Quality Healthcare Network. The presentation featured a talk on telehealth by Dr. Karen Rheuban, co-founder and director of…

My wife and I were trying to find the perfect gift for one of our favorite people. We needed to find a bow tie, but not just an ordinary, humdrum kind. It must have a road map from one place to another. Our friend, who happened to be one of…