We finally got a dog! She is a 3-month-old purebred golden retriever. It was love at first sight when we saw her at the pet store. From our very first interactions, we knew she was the one. We named her Lucky because the golden color of her coat is associated…

Life in the hospital can overwhelm us and leave us beaten down, as if we fought a war to end all wars. We exist by preparing for the next nurse, technician, or doctor to enter the room to check on our loved one. In our case, “MacDonald the Younger” suffered…

I have never heard anyone say, “I wish I could relive middle school.” It is a time when bodies rage with hormones and kids are gangly and awkward with acne and questions. It is also a time when grace is not extended to others. Kids can be mean.

As I write this, it’s the end of the month again, that time when bills are due, debts rack up, and stress is high. I often can’t help but fantasize about what life might be like if I were more successful as an entrepreneur. In the business world, success is…

Note: This story was updated Nov. 6, 2020, to clarify key scientific concepts. The gene-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9 enables a targeted gene insertion approach that may be superior to conventional gene therapy at restoring the activity of factor IX (FIX), the blood-clotting protein missing in people with…

The current state of our world has me longing for something. It’s something that when gone, nothing remains quite the same. What I long for is routine. Yes, I miss the humdrum and the mundaneness of routine. I can still count on some aspects of my life remaining steady, such…

Earlier today, as I was browsing one of the Facebook mom groups I belong to, I came across another mother’s heartbreaking post. Her daughter, a toddler like my own girl, had been battling cancer for some time. All I could think was that she was too little to have to…

When our youngest son, whom we affectionately call “MacDonald the Younger,” was diagnosed with hemophilia, my wife and I didn’t know how to respond. We were in a state of shock and hadn’t thought something like this was possible. Later, we learned that my wife was a hemophilia carrier,…

Quarters. I ended up with a fistful of quarters the other day and had flashbacks to the early days of hemophilia. When my firstborn son came into the world, we lived in Houston. In the early days of Julian’s hemophilia diagnosis, trips to the Texas Medical Center were…

Lately, I’ve been finding myself in need of more “alone time.” Now that I am a mom to a hyperactive and curious toddler, most of my days are spent listening to nursery rhymes on repeat, chasing our baby girl and making sure she doesn’t hurt herself while exploring her surroundings,…