HemoWife - a Column by Allyx Formalejo

I’ve always had a hard time handling disappointment. I grew up labeled a high achiever and was accustomed to meeting high expectations. I feared disappointing other people, or feeling that my best efforts just weren’t enough. As a result, I became sensitive to disappointment, rejection, and failure — a fearsome…

My husband, Jared, and I are in an interesting stage of our parenting journey. Our daughter, who is almost 4, will be going to preschool soon, but for now, she spends almost every day with us at home. She has a rather introverted temperament, so most of the…

My husband, Jared, had a knee bleed last week. The moment he felt the familiar twinge in his joint, he performed his usual treatment regimen: a factor infusion and bed rest. We thought we’d simply wait it out without doing anything special besides resting the injury…

My husband, Jared, gets a lot of bruises. Not because he gets into brawls a lot, and most certainly not because we fight (although we like to troll people with these possibilities just for fun — dark humor, we know). His quick bruising is because he has severe…

Hemophilia is a lifelong condition, both for my husband, Jared, and me. He’s had hemophilia B since he was born, and until a cure is found, it’s here to stay. While I don’t have hemophilia, we both must live with it. I imagine hemophilia to be like a…

Parenthood has transformed my husband, Jared, and me in many ways. We’ve had to be responsible for a lot of things. We must look after our daughter, Cittie, as well as our home, our health, and our relationships with each other and other people. When I was younger, I used…

My husband, Jared, and I are just starting to figure out family life. As novices to the world of parenting and homemaking, we’re navigating our child’s formative years and learning to maintain a household through trial and error. Living by ourselves has been an especially helpful experience. Choosing not…

My husband, Jared, and I are currently in the process of looking for preschools for our daughter, Cittie. She’s almost 4, but sometimes she acts and speaks as if she’s much older. Cittie often tells us that she wants to go to school. Although we refuse to rush her…

Home improvement is a popular hobby here in the Philippines. Over the past few years, online communities dedicated to home decorating and renovation have sprouted up all over social media. Lockdown boredom inspired people to find new hobbies and pastimes, and as work shifted from office to home,…

As my husband, Jared, and I grow deeper in our marriage, the reality that we will spend our entire lives with chronic illness becomes increasingly clear. Jared has severe hemophilia B and a seizure disorder, which I learned about when we started dating. Meanwhile, I was diagnosed with…