March Hemophilia Awareness Month!

March is Hemophilia Awareness month! Very fitting considering that Dwight was born in March himself, uh… on the thirteenth no less in the early 1980’s. Just as Dwight totally changed our life, hemophilia was entering the AIDS era due to contaminated factor given to clot the blood that would ultimately kill the grandfather Dwight inherited his severe hemophilia from, his grandmother, and thousands of other innocent lives.

During Dwight’s beginning years as we learned to cope with distinguishing internal bleeds we also were caught in the middle between the government refusing to pay for the more expensive heat-treated factor and our hematologist that realized early on- even though the drug companies kept everything hushed up and lied to us customers- the regular factor was contaminated so he wouldn’t prescribe nothing but heat-treated. Dr. Hanna literally saved our son’s life. We will forever be grateful to him.

Medical advancement also exploded as the powdered factor was able to be almost instantly dissolved when sterile water was added instead of having to shake the mixed factor for thirty minutes, then upgraded where the factor no longer had to be store in the refrigerator enabling me to reclaim an entire shelf in my refrigerator that once was used to store factor, to now prophylactic treatment where Dwight infuses himself three times a week keeping a low level of factor in his system instead of having to wait until a bleed starts before factoring. This avoids the long painful bleeds of childhood even though Dwight continues to average two to three internal bleeds a week.

Our son's wedding!

Last summer was an exciting time for our family when on August 22nd our son; Dwight Eugene Walker married Amanda Rose Huddleston. Dwight started going with Amanda Rose, a single mother who worked at Walgreens as a pharmacy technician the previous December.



As soon as Dwight met Case there was an instant connection for this fatherless little boy. This loveable active toddler, who looks just like his mother, quickly found a place in our hearts as well. To Case, Dwight is "daddy".



Everyone that sees Dwight and Amanda together thinks they make the perfect couple. When the preacher announced Mr. & Mrs. Dwight Walker the entire congregation stood and gave them a standing ovation as they walked down the aisle while a rainbow arched high overhead outside the church where their vows were said.



For Dwight his wedding day was a dream come true- something that he honestly doubted would ever come to pass having severe hemophilia and knowing that he would physically be unable to support a wife or family. On Amanda's end she prayed for a Christian husband, who would love her son. Amanda and Dwight's wedding was an answer to many prayers. Even though Dwight and Amanda face the challenge of turning a single parent home into a family and coping with a major disability they are a perfect match. While Amanda works fulltime and goes to nursing school, Dwight stays home as a housewife taking care of Case.