Growing up with a rare, chronic illness can draw a lot of attention. Specifically, it can raise a lot of questions, especially from other kids. I can’t remember an age when I wasn’t required to explain my health situation to others, particularly my peers. Early on, absences from school would…
Columns
Three months after giving birth to my second son in 2023, my life changed in a way I never could have imagined. I am a mom of three boys. Being a “boy mom” has always been the center of my world — busy days, loud laughter, endless energy, and the…
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a serious and life-threatening disease. There was a time when the hardest part was simply staying alive, getting through each day, and not knowing what came next. But as my health has improved, the challenges have changed. The hardest part for me now isn’t survival.
Driving to a doctor’s appointment recently, I pulled up to a red light, where a bumper sticker on a nearby car caught my eye. Framed by purple hearts, it read: “A high pain level day is also a low stupidity, low tolerance day.” As someone managing chronic pain due…
I’m a ’90s baby, which means medical dramas were at peak popularity during my childhood. Shows like “ER” and “Grey’s Anatomy” were among the big hits, often portraying a fantasy version of healthcare and hospital life. Throughout high school and college, I frequently indulged in this genre. I remember nights…
A decade later, I still remember standing in the kitchen on a phone call that would change my life. On that morning in March 2016, I left my apartment and returned nearly two weeks later with a pulmonary hypertension (PH) diagnosis. I never thought I’d reach this milestone: living…
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock lately, you’ve probably noticed how astronomical the cost of living has become. I’m talking about the basics: keeping a roof over our heads and food on the table, and securing the everyday necessities we all need to get through the day. Honestly,…
I recently went to Washington, D.C., as part of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s (PHA) Capitol Hill Day to advocate for the pulmonary hypertension (PH) community and help secure co-sponsorship of the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act (SOAR) and the Safe Step Act. The SOAR Act seeks to reform…
I first had to use supplemental oxygen outside of a hospital during flights. This change took place when I was in high school, and one of those flights was for a school trip. I still remember sitting in my window seat, a hat pulled low over my head, trying to…
If you’re looking for March Madness stories, you won’t find them here. But if you want to talk about food, now that’s my jam! I grew up in the South, where food was more than just nourishment; it was our love language. From backyard barbecues to Sunday fried chicken dinners…
Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with intravenous therapy. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. When I was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH), my doctors recommended intravenous (IV) therapy rather than oral medications. They explained…
The last time my mom and I flew together was nearly seven years ago, when I took a medical flight home from Stanford Hospital in California to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. That journey happened midway through my eight-month recovery from a heart and lung transplant in 2018. We both…
