HemoWife - a Column by Allyx Formalejo

The other day, I asked my husband, Jared, if he’d ever consider leading a harm reduction seminar for the teens in his hemophilia organization. His immediate response was, “Of course — but would the parents be ready for that conversation?” That question hit me. As…

Some days it’s easy to see the cracks in our family’s situation — the unpredictable costs, the logistics of keeping medication on hand, the mental load of being a partner to someone with severe hemophilia B and epilepsy. But every so often, I remind myself that there are…

All my life, I’ve chased achievement. It made me crave purpose. I was once a “gifted child,” even called a genius by the Philippine Daily Inquirer — and briefly, I was a commercial model for milk, too. My innocent 5-year-old face appeared in ads juxtaposing little me with history’s…

As someone with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, I crave a challenge. It doesn’t even have to be a significant one, just something that gives me a little feeling of accomplishment. A small win early in the day, such as solving a tricky problem, tidying a corner of my space, or…

People often assume that loving someone with hemophilia — and in my husband’s case, epilepsy, too — must come with endless patience, unshakable optimism, and the kind of soft, gentle pity we reserve for those we imagine can’t carry their own weight. But mine is a different kind of…

My husband, Jared, and I both have marketing backgrounds. We’re used to thinking in terms of value. In branding, you ask: What makes this product worth noticing? What problem does it solve? Why should people care? It’s strange to apply that mindset to something like hemophilia. But when you…

The other day, I found an old document from my husband Jared’s last hospital stay — the one after his freak accident on a pool slide. I’d written about it before, but seeing the discharge papers brought it all back. The memory feels a little funny to us now…

I recently came across a social media post that hit home. It began: “Never judge someone with a chronic illness if they …” and went on to list things like skipping meds, eating foods that might trigger symptoms, resting all day, or even doing something that looks “wrong”…

My husband, Jared, doesn’t need a gym anymore, or dumbbells, or fancy machines. These days, all he needs is the floor, a bit of space, and his body. He still loves the gym and would gladly pick up free weights when the opportunity arises, but there’s something quietly powerful about…

Living with hemophilia and epilepsy has shaped much of my husband’s life — but fatherhood transformed it. Before our daughter was born, Jared, my husband, already carried the weight of two chronic conditions. He’d long made peace with a life of calculated risks, limited physical activity, and the unpredictability…