My daughter, Cittie, is now 8 months old. She has obvious likes and dislikes and is starting to develop habits and character traits. I can sense that she’s about to become a full-fledged toddler. Cittie hasn’t learned to express herself verbally. My husband and I still rely on behavioral clues…
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.
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I’ve written before about not seeing myself as a caregiver in the traditional sense. For us caregivers, hemophilia doesn’t usually demand round-the-clock care. My husband, Jared, manages his condition independently. He infuses. He monitors his body. He makes decisions about risk and rest. My role on most days is…
Last week, my husband had another random bleed in an extremely unfortunate location: his iliopsoas muscle group. It started as a lump on his hip, which he didn’t initially think much of because bruises with swelling are common among people with hemophilia. He didn’t realize it was another bleeding…
I lost some money today during an online transaction. It was 3,150 Philippine pesos (around $60). The amount was a client’s payment for a product she had bought from our online jewelry store. That store is our bread and butter. Currently, we are struggling due to the celestial prices of…
The smell of rubber. The clanging of metal plates against one another. The sight of sweaty bodies heaving, struggling. Towels slung over shoulders. Muscles popping out of the chiseled physiques of a couple who walk through the place like a king and queen (fittingly, as they are its owners). Jared…
I am a work-from-home mom, which means that I have two full-time positions as a “mom” and a “worker.” I am also a full-time carer to my husband with hemophilia. Thankfully, that position affords me several “leave credits” as my husband is not always injured. (Hopefully, the investment we’ve made…
As I pen this column, my husband, Jared, and I are celebrating a full year of marriage. It’s been a blissful one, with so many milestones reached and memorable moments experienced. Our baby, Cittie, was born six months ago, and since then, life has been tremendously different — in an…
Now and then, my husband, Jared, loses consciousness and falls to the ground. To an unknowing onlooker, the sight is alarming. Some wonder if he has fainted. Others worry about his heart or think he may have had a stroke. As his wife of one year and partner for five,…
A few days ago, I gave my husband, Jared, a factor IX infusion for a back bleed. It wasn’t so bad that he couldn’t move around, but in his words, it felt “annoying.” He was already suspicious about it the night before, but he decided to wait it out,…
I’ve recently taken to collecting pearls. It started as a stock-obtaining activity for the jewelry business I run with my husband, Jared, who has hemophilia. It has since grown into a full-fledged personal obsession. This means I’ve been making a lot of sentimental purchases, but I have absolutely no regrets.
It’s been nearly five months since I became a mom to baby Cittie. In those months, my life has been transformed into something completely different. My social media feed, which used to be full of items about academics and career, is now full of articles about babies and…
I sprained my thumb in my sleep a few days ago. The symptoms point to a condition called De Quervain’s tenosynovitis. An extremely painful sensation runs from my thumb to my wrist joint if I move my thumb in certain ways. Putting pressure on it, as I’m forced to…
As I write this, Mother’s Day is approaching, and tributes to mothers have begun filling the pages of local blogs and publications. They speak of the heroism of moms around the world. The sacrifices that moms make for their children. Everything they do to make their families’ lives a tiny…
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