Continuous into-the-vein (intravenous) infusions of Advate immediately before and after major orthopedic surgery is as safe and effective as standard, short, bolus infusions at preventing bleeds in men with moderate-to-severe hemophilia A. That finding from a Phase 3/4 clinical trial — the first controlled trial to compare the two types…

I recently celebrated my 27th birthday in the company of family. Despite being unable to go out due to government-mandated COVID-19 restrictions, I still had a wonderful celebration at home. Although it was a weekday, our workload that day wasn’t too heavy or stressful. I was able to do enjoyable…

I cannot believe that Easter is a few days away. I keep asking myself, “Didn’t we celebrate New Year’s Day yesterday?” One of the common themes interwoven into the fabric of what Christians call Holy Week is the idea that before we get to the joy of Easter, we…

As anyone affected by a rare disease knows, treating the illness while trying to go about everyday life is an expensive undertaking.  But exactly how expensive — in terms of direct and indirect costs across rare disease populations — might still come as a surprise: almost…

As an expectant mother, I dreamed about my son’s future. I imagined the sound of his voice, the daily rituals we would create together, and the way I’d simply hold and love him with every part of my being. When my first son, Julian, came into the world, my…

My husband, Jared, has fond memories of his school days when he was younger. He went to an all-boys combined elementary school and high school, where roughhousing and horsing around with friends were common. He and his classmates sometimes were crude and rowdy, he says, but they were all very…

Children and teenagers with hemophilia are considerably more physically active than adult patients, possibly reflecting more recent emphasis on the benefits of exercise and the arrival of better treatments, according to a recent review study. Yet, how physically activity relates to bleeding events remains unclear, its researchers wrote, and long-term…

Both swimming and hydrotherapy can improve functional capacity in hemophilia patients, according to data from a recent study. Of those two types of aquatic exercises, however, hydrotherapy was associated with the most significant functional improvements in these patients. Those findings were reported in the study, “Aquatic…

Although my sons, now 15 and 24, are different as night and day, they both began asking questions about hemophilia at about age 5. I tackled the tough issues they wrestled with, always acknowledging that their problems contained merit. At 5 years old, they each asked the same question that…

My youngest son, Caeleb, became best friends with a girl named Taylor in sixth grade. Then, our family moved away to Texas, but returned to New Mexico two years later. Caeleb and Taylor now live an hour apart. Despite it all, they have remained close. It is remarkable for a…