I have been applying to graduate programs that would incorporate more spirituality into my advocacy work with the hemophilia community and allow me to explore how faith and spirituality help people cope with bleeding disorders. Among them was a dream doctoral program for working professionals that offered students scholarships…

As a former band director, I understand the importance of each musical instrument in an ensemble. The percussion keeps the rhythm steady. The low brass offers the foundation of the music, and the trumpets, flutes, and clarinets play the melodies. Each section contributes to the overall piece. Music is an…

When you have a year that is best left in the past, ushering in the new year is a time of celebration. You start with a clean slate and an attitude of hopefulness for what is yet to come. For many years I based the quality of a…

In our culture, we learn at a very young age to make resolutions at the start of a new year. Unfortunately, the odds of breaking our goals are much higher than the odds of fulfilling what we set out to accomplish. UAB Medicine News reports that less than 8% of…

Living with a chronic bleeding disorder brings a whole new set of words into our vocabulary. Around my house, when it is time to infuse, we say, “Hey guys, its time to get liquored up.” While that may sound odd, our word choices help to remind us that each treatment…

Two likes. No comments. Just. Two. Likes. A friend, who has a son with hemophilia, told me about her daughter’s new diagnosis unrelated to bleeding disorders. She was scared and unsure of what to expect for her daughter, and as an experienced “hemo mom,” she immediately found a…

Activities are underway to mark Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month, set aside each March to call attention to such disorders as hemophilia and von Willebrand disease, and the more than three million U.S. residents living with them. Patients, caregivers, and activists nationwide are jumping on social media platforms, taking…

Two pharmaceutical companies, LeaderMed Health Group and OPKO Health, are teaming up to develop, manufacture, and commercialize two experimental medications in China and other locations in Asia. One of the investigational medicines, Factor VIIa-CTP, is being developed as a potential treatment for hemophilia. “Through this joint venture, we…

I have guaranteed quality time with my youngest son, Caeleb, who is 15 and has hemophilia, every Sunday morning. He comes with me to the church where I serve as pastor, and he video records the service each week. Our commute is 40 minutes one way, and in that time…

I have never been one to subscribe to traditional gender stereotypes. Thankfully, we now live in a world that is more accepting of people who live differently than society’s outdated views of assigned gender. Still, some of these old stereotypes persist. I grew up with a…