Hemophilia 24/7 - a Column by Cazandra Campos-MacDonald

Moving is challenging. Moving means packing, having to decide what to keep and what not to keep, learning a new place, having to find a new grocery store, a new hair and nail salon, a new healthcare provider. Doing all that this time offered an opportunity to remember and…

My last home had a great fence. It was a wall of concrete blocks surrounding my backyard and stood 7 feet high. With two dogs who bark at the wind blowing, the wall deterred them from jumping and kept some of their barking at bay. However, there was an iron…

A columnist reflects on how a lifelong friendship taught her the value of “meeting halfway,” a lesson that later guided her advocacy while raising a son with severe hemophilia. When gaps in care emerged, collaboration and persistence became essential to securing the support he needed.

I’m a hospice chaplain, and one day I was at the nurses’ station, completing my notes from a patient visit, when the fire alarm sounded. Startled, I turned to the nurse, who said the alarm had been going off all day due to a system glitch. The piercing, unrelenting sound…

I recently helped a colleague with an exhibit at a fall festival. The venue was an assisted living facility, and we provided games and treats for the residents and children in the community. Our inflatable blue pool with colorful plastic fish made for a fun fishing expedition for all…

I grew up outside the city limits of Houston. My childhood was idyllic. I am one of the few who say my high school years were some of the best of my life. When I went to college, I attended a university on the other side of town. I…

It’s been almost 30 years since I first discovered the joy of pregnancy. I can still recall my excitement as I left the doctor’s office, clutching the positive test in my hand. I was eager to surprise my husband, Joe, who was teaching high school choir. I called his…

Dinner with friends is a delightful escape from the daily grind, a precious opportunity to share moments of love and presence. Recently, another couple invited my husband, Joe, and me to dinner at their home here in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The prospect of spending quality time with them and…

I bought a new mattress and anxiously awaited its delivery. At last, the furniture truck rumbled in the cul-de-sac and stopped in my driveway. Seeing my new, plush, dreamy mattress rolled up like a carpet and crinkling inside its plastic wrap was odd, but I knew it’d soon offer a…

Over the years, I’ve expressed my creative side in ways I never imagined possible. The space intended to be the formal living room in my home is, instead, my quilt room. Sewing machines (yes, plural), fabric, colored markers, pens in Mason jars, paper for greeting cards, and brightly colored yarn…