As an introvert, coronavirus isolation is not problematic for me. I have plenty of projects to keep me busy. My graduate schoolwork is online, and the normalcy of school has been nice during these uncertain times. I hear about people who have a hard time in isolation, and honestly, I don’t…

As my family started contemplating the people and routines we’ll leave behind in our upcoming job change and move, my thoughts turned to one routine in particular: For over 12 years, I’ve visited my therapist regularly. Her support was a beacon of hope in some of the darkest times;…

Are caregiving and parenting the same? Caregiving is the activity or profession of taking care of one who is sick or disabled. A parent is one who brings up and cares for another. As the mother of two sons with hemophilia, I believe that caregiving and parenting are not…

Every family speaks their own language. Mine certainly does. It is like a secret code that is unbreakable outside of our house, used to inform family members how we feel about an issue or event. It is done so subtly that no one else is aware of the information…

This year’s annual Bleeding Disorders Conference began a week ago in Atlanta and ended on Saturday. While it wasn’t my first such event, it brought several new opportunities. For one thing, as my wife, Cazandra, and I packed for the event, I felt mixed emotions. At recent conferences,…

Sometimes being different is a good thing. You display your unique characteristics and qualities to the world through your clothing, hair, and makeup. Your actions reveal your views on social justice, and you voice your political views because your beliefs are a key part of who you are. Sometimes, others…

When my youngest son, Caeleb, now 17, was 11 months old, he had a bleeding episode that shook us to our core. We’d recently moved to New Mexico from Houston and didn’t yet know our new medical team. Because my wife, Cazandra, had promised to play oboe at…

I recently accompanied my youngest son to his comprehensive checkup at the Ted R. Montoya Hemophilia Program and Treatment Center. Located in Albuquerque and affiliated with the University of New Mexico hospital system, the center serves as our main treatment facility for hemophilia. “MacDonald the Younger” started seeing the…

Last year, I met Kayla Mack through a Facebook group for people with von Willebrand disease (VWD). Kayla has type 3, a severe form of the condition. She reached out to the group for help after a terrifying visit to the emergency room. She wrote, “I’m getting very afraid…

Special days come up: holidays, birthdays, and vacations. We take time to relax and enjoy ourselves, but there is always something staring us in the face. Needles do not care what days may be essential or ordinary. They call to our families, reminding us that hemophilia does not…