30 Days of PH : Men Get PH, Too

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by Jen Cueva |

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Day 23 of 30 Days of PH ⁣ Topic: Men get PH, too⁣ ⁣ This is Wayne’s story⁣ ⁣ Throughout my initial symptoms and misdiagnosis, my then-wife seemed uninterested. During my CTEPH surgery and recovery, she continued this mindset and had no desire to learn about my disease. As I slowly was recovering after my surgery, she decided she was no longer willing to be my caregiver. She left and divorced me. ⁣ ⁣ What I learned was pulmonary hypertension is a difficult disease to understand not only as a doc, but as a spouse, partner, friend, or caregiver. It is difficult even for a patient to understand. After several years alone and finding Facebook PH groups, I saw a post from Morgan Nuchols and just knew she was the one. We talked online, visited each other's homes and spent time together at the 2018 conference.⁣ ⁣ We continue to grow closer to each other and build a stronger relationship even though it is a long-distance relationship at this point. What I most want to share and make aware to others is that PH is a difficult disease to add to a relationship. PH can make things more difficult and stressful. ⁣ ⁣ As a man, I expected that I would provide an income, take care of repairs, upkeep around the house and normal life chores. I was not able to do any of that, so I focused on trying to improve my health. This was not easy for me. It was a long slow process for me. Before diagnosis, I had never heard of pulmonary hypertension.I had a hard time wrapping my head around the information that my PH the specialist gave me. This can be overwhelming. The local PH support group "found me" .They helped me to make a shift in my hope for improvement, better quality, and a longer life. There is always hope! ⁣ #30daysofPH #CTEPH #men⁣ ⁣ ​

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Jen Cueva Jen Cueva lives in San Diego, California, with her husband and daughter. Jen worked in nursing before the script changed upon her diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension (PH), group 1, in 2005. Advocacy has been essential to her life. Her passion is to instill hope and remind others in the PH community that they are not alone. To do this, she serves as a forum moderator for Pulmonary Hypertension News and in her weekly column she delves into the roller coaster of emotions that accompany PH. It is powerful and meaningful to her to have this opportunity to play a role in helping others become more informed and educated so they are more empowered in their journey. Together, we PHight stronger!

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30DaysofPH, awareness, CTEPH

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