Mama Bears, It’s Time to Take Action

A few weeks ago, the news media broadcasted a video of Jill Biden — spouse of presidential hopeful and former vice president Joe Biden — physically blocking a protester in California from coming into contact with her husband.

Not only did Jill put herself in between her husband and the protester, but she also put her arms up in a defensive stance to push back on this protester. As a second protester rushed the stage, senior advisor Symone Sanders jumped in to grab this protester around the waist and usher her swiftly off the stage. Jill and Symone — they’re mama bears.

All of the moms I know in the world of hemophilia are mama bears every day, though we may not be shown on the nightly news. While we don’t often employ body-blocking techniques, we are champions of mental fortitude as we navigate the medical web, balance insurance trials, advocate, and research.

We often feel alone in our struggle but we have a community that’s not place-bound by any typical definition. For me, my besties in the bleeding disorders community live at least 100 miles away — not close enough for a quick cup of coffee at the corner shop but maybe a Zoom meeting on a good hair day.

The great thing about the video to me is this: we needed to see that kind of physical representation of mama bears in battle to know that, while our mom-struggles are often under our special invisibility cloaks, the skirmishes are real.

Today, we face a battle never experienced in our lifetime, and it is time for mama bears in our midst to drop our cloaks and come out in full frontal battle. Hemophilia mama bears have been in training for this pandemic as long as we’ve been mothers to a kiddo with a bleeding disorder.

We understand how to build community online. We know how to educate our children, and we know how to fight shadow enemies. We know what loneliness and isolation feel like, and the fragile days when tears seem imminent because no one understands us. But we also know the antidotes to these days of dread: reaching out, checking in, and connecting with our community and beyond. We know how to live beyond our physical walls even when we’re held in by them.

Stay-at-home orders, shelter-in-place, and social distancing are all confusing and scary terms. But we’ve got this. Mama bears know how to double down on the difficult. Mama bears know how to follow orders to protect our families and keep from harm. Mama bears do not back down from a fight. It’s time to symbolically body-block, grab this thing, and wrestle it off-stage, Jill- and Symone-style.

Mama bears know how to protect, and this is our time to take action. Mama bears can lead us all to safety.

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Note: Hemophilia News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Hemophilia News Today or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to hemophilia.