Raising awareness is a delicate task. Sometimes, the most effective way to promote dialogue is with a tool that is considered controversial. I understood this seven months ago when I made a T-shirt that was bound to attract both people who loved it and people who hated it.
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…
I often wonder what my sons feel when they are in the middle of a bleeding episode. Both boys tell me that a bleed into a joint or muscle feels like needles constantly stabbing into the skin. The pain is unbearable and doesn’t let up until a medical clotting…
May is a busy month — with end of school year parties and graduations, the time flies as summer begins. This month is significant for another reason: May is Mental Health Month. It is wonderful that our society talks openly about mental health issues. When I was growing up,…
Many years ago, while working in the association management world, I had a director who challenged his managers (including me) to calculate the “true” cost of every program we proposed. My director’s challenge was not merely a budgetary task; it was an exercise in extreme critical thinking that moved us…
It is no secret that I am a pastor in the United Methodist faith. Many times, I find that having children with bleeding disorders challenges my theology and how I view the world, when considering divine providence over life and the struggles that make us human. I am…
Our family took a recent trip to White Sands, New Mexico. The dunes were amazing. I had thought that my feet would burn due to the heat. However, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that the sand was cold. I enjoyed walking barefoot as we climbed to the top of…
Summer is upon us. Our kids have big plans: sleeping in, watching television, playing video games, sleepovers, vacations, and summer camp. From church camp to athletic and band camp, the summer is filled with opportunities. The bleeding disorder community also has summer camps across the country from June to…
Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is an inherited bleeding disorder with an estimated prevalence between 23 and 110 per 1 million people. These numbers vary because the criteria for diagnosis are not always the same. Causes of VWD VWD is caused by mutations in the VWF gene. This gene…
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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