Driving home from choir practice, I noticed that my pinky felt strange. It was really stiff, and I couldn’t bend it. When I rubbed the outside of my knuckle, it hurt a lot. By the time I arrived home, it was swelling and turning black and blue. I had no…

During the National Conference for Women with Hemophilia and Rare Factor Deficiencies, held Oct. 3-5 in Detroit, I joined a standing-room-only session titled “More Than One Story: Exploring Joint Health in Hemophilia, Hypermobility, and Beyond.” It was refreshing to see hypermobility on the agenda — a topic that resonates…

Doctors discovered a rare combination of blood clotting disorders — acquired hemophilia A alongside an inherited disorder called Factor XII deficiency — in a 70-year-old man set to undergo a leg amputation due to foot gangrene. “This case highlights the importance of considering acquired hemophilia A in unexplained bleeding…

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 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…

Last Friday, I went about my day as usual. It’s one of my days off, and I was looking forward to some free time. As I made plans for the weekend, my phone started ringing. I looked at the screen and saw my youngest son Caeleb’s face. I smiled because…

Novo Nordisk has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval to market Mim8 (denecimig), an injection therapy for preventing bleeds in people with hemophilia A with or without inhibitors. If approved, Mim8 would be sold as a single-use, prefilled disposable pen for subcutaneous,…

When I reflect on the unexpected detours my life took when my wife, Cazandra, and I had children, I cannot help but feel gratitude for them. They led me to where I am now. The author and teacher Joseph Campbell once wrote: “We must be willing to…

My recent columns have focused on my experience at the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation’s (NBDF) annual Bleeding Disorders Conference, held Aug. 21-23 in Aurora, Colorado. I wrote about fun times with colleagues and new friends, and offered my gratitude to salespeople who truly care. I shared that my…

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…