Words matter when we talk about conditions like hemophilia
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen phrases like “victims of hemophilia” or “afflicted with hemophilia” in local news articles. Sometimes the phrase is “suffering from hemophilia.”…
HemoWife — Allyx Formalejo
Allyx Formalejo, or Cza, is a writer, entrepreneur, and digital marketer based in Marikina, Philippines. She is married to Jared, who has severe hemophilia B and a seizure disorder. They have a young daughter and two other “babies” — a dog and a cat. Cza herself is diagnosed with ADHD and bipolar II disorder. This allows her to offer a unique perspective on navigating various aspects of young adult life (e.g. relationships, career, and parenting) with chronic health conditions. In her free time, she enjoys collecting fountain pens, supporting small businesses, traveling across the country, and exploring local cafes. She continues to blog like most 90s kids did in the Internet’s early years, sharing her thoughts and interesting discoveries on her personal website, czaofalltrades.com.
Featured Post
Living with a disability doesn’t make someone ‘special’
When people find out that my husband, Jared, has hemophilia and epilepsy, they often say things like, “You’re so strong,” or, “You’re such an inspiration.” He usually smiles politely,…
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When caregiving for a spouse turns into emotional babysitting
Most people living with chronic illness wrestle with difficult emotions at one point or another, such as frustration, fear, guilt, or helplessness. My husband, Jared, is no exception. Living with hemophilia B —…
Living in abundance when hemophilia medication is scarce
Scarcity mindset is the belief that something you rely on will one day run out. It’s most often talked about in the context of money, which resonates with me deeply. As a neurodivergent…
Giving ourselves permission to take a rest is vital
Some days, my husband, Jared, who has severe hemophilia B, is unstoppable. He’ll haul a heavy plant pot across the living room, rearrange furniture, or even knock out a workout that would leave…
What my husband learned about parenting with empathy, reflection
The other day, I watched my husband, Jared, handle a parenting moment in a way that surprised me. He didn’t scold or lecture our young daughter. He didn’t swoop in with a tidy “lesson…
Hemophilia care in the Philippines: Stories from the provinces
When I traveled with HAPLOS, the Hemophilia Philippines Foundation, about six years ago to visit families with bleeding disorders in rural provinces, I expected hardship. What I didn’t expect was how drastically the…
Going wide with ‘HemoWife,’ and more, on a social media channel
Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a social media channel that captures slices of my everyday life. On the surface, that might not sound unusual. Plenty of people create online spaces…
The effects of growing up with a chronically ill parent
Kids have a way of flattening the extraordinary into the ordinary. My 6-year-old daughter once scraped her knee, looked down at the blood, and calmly said, “Like Daddy, because he bleeds.” Then there was…
Harm reduction strategies for teens with hemophilia
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 —…
5 things I’m grateful for in our life with hemophilia
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…
Our chronic conditions have helped, not hurt, in finding purpose
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…
