Val Bias & Jonathan Hill On Living As Well As Possible With Hemophilia & Hill’s New “Blood Of The Paladin” Graphic Novel
Over the last year, creative play and games like Dungeons & Dragons have made a resurgence, helping players escape a real-life monster: the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only has Jonathan Hill been using the role-playing game his entire life as an escape from the challenges of his chronic health condition, severe hemophilia A, but he has also channeled his creative energy into writing a new graphic novel. Blood Of The Paladin details his journey of accepting, managing and embracing his bleeding disorder. Within the graphic novel, Hill draws support from his father, close friends and D&D alike.
From 2008 through 2019, Val Bias — who also lives with hemophilia — led the National Hemophilia Foundation to the forefront of the healthcare reform debate on such issues as the elimination of lifetime caps and pre-existing conditions with insurers. In addition, Bias greatly expanded the NHF’s research agenda and created the Women’s Health and Bleeding Disorders Institute to address the growing needs for awareness and treatment for women with bleeding disorders. Before becoming CEO, Bias maintained a long history with the National Hemophilia Foundation — from his service as NHF’s Board Chair in 1992 to his tenure as volunteer, consultant and lobbyist/advocate for NHF — culminating with the passage of the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Act of 1998. In turn, Bias has interfaced with key decision makers in executive and legislative branches of federal government and has long-standing working relationships with such federal agencies as the CDC, NIH and FDA.
On April 12, 2021, Jonathan Hill and Val Bias spoke about World Hemophilia Day, survivng hemophilia, Blood Of The Paladin and plenty more, as sent to me via Zoom and embedded below. More on Blood Of The Paladin can be found online at www.bloodofthepaladin.com.
About the Author
Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."
