Here is Dwight on his Honda CBR 900 RR that he drives to work each day..,

where he works as a janitor at the Byrdstown Elementary School forty minutes away from home.

Even though Dwight's motorcycle gets 50 miles to the gallon maintenance is a top priority.

Dwight with Case in the GMC pickup truck, which he uses to bring Case up to our house every other weekend.

And like all boys, Case loves trucks.  Here he is at the wheel imitating driving like Dwight.

This autumn we put Sandy to sleep after sixteen years of companionship and loyalty to our family. Sandy's entrance into our lives came at a crucial time for us when Dwight was having a major knee bleed that surgery didn't help. In fact it was Sandy and God that helped Dwight escape another knee surgery. Sandy from the start was always Dwight's dog.



Dwight also helped get the workshop roof covered after it was hit by lightning one hot summer weekend when Randy came up from Nashville to help along with Scotty, our next door neighbor.

Once again Dwight has been allowed to be with Case. What fun Case has playing with "his Dwight"...


on the floor...


and reading story books together.



Lots of love and hugs between Dwight and Case.

Birthday Celebrations

Springtime is when Dwight's birthday arrives. Not only is March Hemophilia Awareness Month, but it is also when Dwight gets another year older. What fun!

This year along to celebrate his "advancing years", Dwight drives a beat-up 1990 Ford Ranger pickup, as his main vehicle for transportation- a gift from his brother-in-law, who decided that it wasn't worth the money involved to get it up to power to pass inspection in Nashville. Dwight loves old vehicles, especially when they sound like a bomb getting ready to explode. The picture doesn't do all the dents and falling parts justice. You'd have to see it in person to appreciate its "finer points".

The weekend of Dwight's birthday was a busy one with riding his motorcycle with a friend in the morning, celebrating his birthday in the early afternoon, and then getting the truck loaded for an overnight camping trip.

Here Dwight is all geared up and ready to head out into the woods with another friend. It was a beautiful weekend to go camping. That evening as he bedded down, Dwight could see a sky full of stars between the trees through his tent roof; a perfect way to celebrate a birthday.

New Year New Beginnings

Dwight has settled back into his old room again getting organized once more between work days. Snow days give him a chance to work on his truck, do stuff out in the workshop, or discuss guy stuff like truck/car parts and camping with a fellow neighbor.


Over Christmas, Dwight spent several days out in Nashville with his sister and family. While running around with the guys checking out after Christmas sales, Dwight found a great deal on a 1950 Remenington semi-automatic 12 GA shotgun, which he bought. He went to a shooting range with Randy, his brother-in-law, visited Tigg one day (who also has hemophilia), and tried his hand at shooting clay pigeons. After ringing in the New Year in the big city, Dwight finally came back home to slower life on the mountain.

Shattered Dreams and Broken Promises

Two years ago Amanda came into Dwight's life bringing dreams to life, laughter, and happiness. Then only after being married a year and a couple of months, Amanda decided that she didn't love Dwight anymore: a month earlier Dwight had become Case's legal guardian. Before Dwight's clothes were out of the house, Amanda started living with Case's biological father, who only claimed Case as his son after being taken to court, didn't give any child support until the state stepped in, and had very little to do with Case. A week later, Amanda filed for divorce refusing to talk to her own family or the preacher, who married and counseled them. Amanda's decision was an unsuspected devastating shock to both sides of the family. How can one person, who gave so much joy, cause so much pain ripping a family unit apart?

The week before Thanksgiving we moved our son back home with us. It was a very emotional traumatic experience. Dwight has not only lost a wife, but an adorable little boy, who called him daddy. Dwight was the only father that Case had known taking care of him 24-7 even after holding down a job.

So now our son must pick up the pieces of his life, work through the pain of broken promises and shattered dreams, and adjust to being a single adult again. Even knowing that he gave his marriage and fatherhood every bit of himself and tried his best to make it work- Amanda admitting that it wasn't anything that he had done- still doesn't prevent his self esteem from taking a bitter blow. Thankfully Dwight is surrounded by close family members on both sides and scores of friends, who are supporting him during this major transition in his life.

Hemophilia From A Toddler's View

I am Case Trenton Huddleston and lots of things have happened already in my life. My parents celebrated their first anniversary a couple of months ago and I turned two years old. I am a big boy and can things all by myself. In fact I am quite independent.

My mommy works fulltime at Walgreen's and goes to school. My daddy got a job as a janitor at the school where in a few more years I will attend, so now a couple days each week I go to the day care and play with the other kids.

Having a dad that has hemophilia isn't that much different from anyone else's dad. My daddy got a shoulder bleed one time from carrying me around so much, but he still is big and strong enough to carry me when I get tired.

I quickly learned that I'm not supposed jump on my daddy's ankles as sometimes he has bleeds in them and I have to be careful, but otherwise we wrestle around and play together every day.

I love dogs and have a puppy of my own. Here I am petting my daddy's dog when he was a boy and lived at Grandma and Papa Walker's house. Sandy is a real old dog.

A Wife's Perspective of Living With Hemophilia

When Amanda Rose married our son, Dwight, she entered the world of living with a person, who has a chronic bleeding disorder. Her life will never be the same again. Already working in the medical field, Amanda was curious about hemophilia when she first met Dwight. She asked numerous questions and researched hemophilia to find out how it affects a person. Before they were even engaged, Amanda and Dwight talked daily working through issues that might affect them after being married and went to marriage counseling. Today Amanda works fulltime as a pharmaceutical technician at Walgreens and goes to nursing school. Now that she is married her biggest challenge is managing time for her son and husband between work and school.




Since Dwight is unable to work fulltime, Amanda has the responsibility of providing the main income. She quickly learned firsthand the frustration of state insurance with all its paperwork and limitations of income that doesn’t allow a person to better themselves financially. Thankfully, Amanda has great insurance at Walgreen’s that also covers Dwight. While they don’t have to worry about insurance coverage at this point, Amanda is keeping herself informed concerning the future as adequate insurance coverage will always be of major importance.




Amanda is quickly learning to identify the signs of bleeding episodes- like limping for Dwight’s chronic ankle bleeds or crankiness as a sign of pain- and has to take the initiative asking Dwight if he is having a bleed as Dwight tends to hide bleeding episodes or downplay them. A big frustration is worrying about Dwight factoring himself regularly like he should in order to avoid bleeds. When Dwight woke up with a hip bleed one morning, Amanda was suddenly faced with the added stress of trying to call in and see if she could get the day off and/or work out a babysitter for Case. Thankfully after a couple of days, Dwight was back on his feet again. Dwight’s arthritis is another main issue that Amanda is concerned about. Keeping informed and Dwight mobile is a big priority.




Her advice to other girls considering marrying or someone living with hemophilia is to give unconditional acceptance. Keep communication open by making sure that the other person doesn’t hide his feelings from you and work through any disagreements. Living with a person who has hemophilia is quite challenging compared to someone without any medical history. If anyone can meet the challenge it is Amanda Rose. With her caring personality that will make her a fantastic hospice nurse she also is the perfect marriage partner for Dwight. We are so proud of you, Amanda. You are the best thing that ever happened to our son!