My 24-year-old son, Julian, lives out of state, where he attends college and works as a barista. He pays his bills and “adults” well, making me immensely proud of him. When he was a teenager, I didn’t think I would live to see his adult years. Like most teenagers who…

Genentech has launched a program called HemeWork to support the professional development and career goals of people living with hemophilia. HemeWork was developed with input from the Hemophilia Federation of America (HFA) and bleeding disorder advocates across the U.S. to help members of the bleeding disorder community…

Our baby, Cittie, is now the textbook specimen of a toddler. My husband, Jared, often finds himself surprised by how quickly she is developing. Her vocabulary doubles by the day, and she is even learning interjections. As funny as it is to hear her suddenly screaming “Oh no!” or a…

The National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) has received a $500,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support education and outreach efforts in bleeding disorders. The five-year funding will help the NHF conduct programs for patients and healthcare providers related to inhibitor awareness, treatment for…

I will never forget the first time the Hemophilia Federation of America asked me to facilitate a discussion group for parents of the newly diagnosed, at the federation’s annual symposium. About 30 parents attended, each with their own issues regarding their children. I sat in my chair and quickly…

A new mom recently called me to share her concerns and to ask questions about choosing a new treatment for her son. She needed a listening ear, and just thinking about the possibility that her little boy might never need an implanted port gave me chills. I thought…

Tiny particles containing RNA led to successful delivery and production of factor VIII (FVIII) — the clotting protein that is missing or defective in people with hemophilia A — in a mouse model of the disease, according to a new study. The study, “Functionalized lipid-like…

Raremark, an online rare disease patient community, has launched a digital platform called Xperiome, aimed at streamlining the search for new medicines for rare disorders and incorporating more patient input into research. The goal is to help the pharmaceutical industry deliver innovative new therapies faster and smarter, the…

We’ve all had them: those amazing flings that morph into less-than-ideal relationships. During the initial honeymoon phase, the person we are with appears to do nothing wrong. At that moment, we are certain that this time is different. We believe that…

I’ve been reading a lot of parenting books lately. Now that our baby girl, Cittie, is a full-fledged toddler, I’m often unsure of how to deal with her. So many things about her are new to us, from her tendency to throw tantrums, to her…