Chronic Illness Makes My World Smaller
Christie and I were walking through the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco when I heard someone call my name. Dhaya Lakshminarayanan waved me over. I…
Life After PH — Kathleen Sheffer
After fighting idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension with combined intravenous and oral therapies for 17 years, Kathleen received a heart-lung transplant on July 1, 2016. Now in her late 20s, she works as a photographer in San Francisco, California, and writes about the transition from life with PH to life with chronic immunosuppression. See her photography at kathleensheffer.com.
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Cooking Is Great in Life with PH
A therapist once asked me what makes me happy, and I said “food” right away. Thankfully, I’ve matured since high school, and food is no longer at the top of my mental…
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Normal Lung Pressure Adds Pressure to Live to the Fullest
My anxiety skyrocketed last month without any medical triggers. I celebrate my 26th birthday this weekend, and my third transplant anniversary…
Skiing Put My Life with PH in a New Light
President’s Day weekend was supposed to be monumental. I intended to write a feel-good column about coming full circle. It was my first time skiing post-transplant in the mountains around…
Heart-lung Transplant Inspires Art, Valentines
The night before my heart-lung transplant, I was in my high school art studio working on an oil painting. I had started painting to pass the time while waiting for…
Gratitude for an Unfair Life
I am particularly sensitive to feeling left out of activities with friends. This started when I was a young, sick kid. I walked at the very end of the group…
2018: My Year in Review
2018 was triumphant. I accomplished several of my long-term goals. I had zero organ rejection, so I remained on my lowest dose of prednisone all year, and that meant…
Echocardiograms Are an Emotional Experience After PH and CHD
Last week I went in for a cardiac ultrasound (I call this exam an echo). I’ve probably had hundreds of them in my life, but since my heart-lung transplant, echoes…
My Recent CPAP Use Has Triggered Traumatic Memories
For 16 years I slept with supplemental oxygen delivered through a nasal cannula. Prone to desaturation at night, I blasted two liters of concentrated oxygen through my nose every minute…
Challenges and Insecurities While Working with PH and Transplant
Lately, I’ve been so busy with my freelance photography business that I haven’t had time to put thought into a new column. I suppose that means it’s time to…
September Brought Grief and Heavy Hearts
Claire Wineland’s death on Sept. 2 set the tone for the month. Great losses in my communities clouded September. Claire suffered a stroke after a double-lung transplant. She was a brilliant young…
Lessons on Persistence from the Desert
I love the desert. No, this is not a timely column post about Burning Man. Sorry to disappoint. I’ve really only been to the desert twice. The general inconvenience of…
