I recently stumbled upon a thought-provoking post by “Typical Pinoy Crap” (TPC), a well-known Filipino digital creator who shares insightful views about social issues. The post commented on a line from a song by the all-girl Filipino pop group BINI, titled “Karera” (“Race”). The line is…

In June, my firstborn son, affectionally nicknamed MacDonald the Older, will turn 26 years old. Conversations include career plans after his major milestone. He hopes to sing on Broadway and continues to get better with age. A vocalist myself, I hear his progress and believe he has an excellent…

So I get into the shower, and as I wash my hair, a memory comes flooding back to me. In a moment, I am standing face to face with it. My oldest son was 6 and struggling with a prophylactic infusion of recombinant factor VIII. The needle terrified him…

My son couldn’t walk, and placing him in a wheelchair proved to be impossible. Internal bleeding into a knee or ankle forced my “stinky boy” to remain in bed. I hurt for him, thinking, “If only he could get in a wheelchair, he could see the world.” We wished…

Helping others is nice. On the most basic level, helping another person can trigger positive emotions. It also creates a sense of belonging and enables one to connect with their community. And from a big-picture perspective, it gives one a sense of purpose, as they are contributing something good…

My wife and I stood around my son’s hospital bedside, waiting for the anesthetist to come in and prepare my boy for surgery. My son Julian required a port-a-cath due to how much medicine had to be infused into his system daily. He was about 1 year old…

I’ve been sick for most of this week with digestive issues. This is a chronic condition for me, but it always bothers me when it happens. I’m weak and unable to do much. I must gauge my energy levels and try to squeeze important tasks into the moments I…

There are multiple types of medical trauma. A medical emergency can be traumatic. Chronic medical issues can be traumatic. Struggling to obtain a diagnosis and treatment is traumatic. I believe that one of the most consequential results of suffering medical trauma is the subsequent refusal to engage with medical professionals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCZunn4ML5o If you’re living with a chronic illness, it’s easy to slip into a malaise and feel sorry for yourself. This isn’t a helpful state of mind and it potentially means you’re missing out on life. In this video from NewLifeOutlook, Anna Scanlon shares her five…

Rare disease-themed videos glowed on a large screen before an audience of people in wheelchairs, with crutches, and bearing oxygen tanks this Nov. 9 and 10 in San Francisco. Disorder: The Rare Disease Film Festival strives to eventually host a film about every one of the nearly 7,000 rare…