Page 4 - HFA Dateline 2016 Q4 Winter

EXECUTIVE CORNER

Dear Community Members,

appy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful holiday What a powerful statement! It speaks to my view of our beauti-
Hseason and very happy start to the New Year! Can you ful bleeding disorders community. It’s always amazing to see
believe it’s 2017 already? The year ahead will be full of change how a small community like ours can come together to do
for our nation as a whole, but also specifically for our bleed- great things to support one another.
ing disorders community. We all lived through a very unusual This issue of Dateline highlights some of the great work that
election cycle this past year, one that left our community, and is being done across the country by the HFA staff, local Mem-
our country, in a state of transition, uncertainty, and, for some, ber Organizations, volunteers, and individuals like you! Nick
even fear.
and Randy Vosburg share their story of how their family grew
When I wasn’t glued to the election coverage, however, I after they adopted three beautiful boys, one with hemophil-
disconnected from the pundit-chatter and watched more ia (p. 20). Their commitment to provide a loving family and
entertaining fare. One show I’ve completely fallen in love home to those who had been labeled “unadoptable” is simply
with is NBC’s This Is Us. Each hour-long episode is full of heartwarming.
emotional, touching moments, along with a few surprises, and, To address some of the post-election questions many of you
happily, I always find themes within the narrative that speak to have, our staff offers a look ahead at health policy (p. 10), and
our community. In a recent episode, one of the young boys in provides advice on how best to work with your congressional
the show had taken up martial arts and was being introduced delegation to make an impact (p. 11). Don’t miss our timeline
into the class along with his father. The class initiation in- of the Blood Brotherhood program, as we look back on the past
volved the father doing push-ups with the boy lying his father’s 10 years of serving adult men living with bleeding disorders
back. What initially seemed like a strange ritual turned out to (p. 14). This just skims the surface of what this issue has in
provide a powerful realization for the boy. His classmates and store, so I hope you’ll turn the page and keep on reading.
his father would be there to carry him, on their backs if neces-
sary, whenever he was in need. The teacher then spoke up and As we enter this time of change and uncertainty, I am hope-
said “The world isn’t always a kind place. We are your commu- ful for the future, and I am reassured by the notion that “when
nity. When things get hard, we are going to be the ones who things get hard, we are going to be the ones who hold each
hold each other up.” other up.”

Warm regards,

Tracy Cleghorn
Board Chair
“ It’s always amazing to see how

a small community like ours can

come together to do great things
”
to support one another.

4 Dateline Federation | Winter 2016