Columns

Summer is in full swing here in the U.K. Many are jetting off on holiday, and thousands flocked to the recent Glastonbury Festival. I’ve always loved summer, music festivals, heat, and travel. But now that I live with pulmonary hypertension (PH), I have to make certain adjustments.

Before my diagnosis, pulmonary hypertension (PH) was a mystery to me. I’d never met anybody who had the disease. Sometimes finding another person with PH is just as rare as the progressive disease itself. That’s exactly why I went to Atlanta last month to attend the International…

The alarm sounds at an absurd hour on those days of the year when I am always up earliest. No food or coffee. And only enough water to take my morning medications. The commute is usually long and quiet. My mom drives while I rest, my headphones firmly in place…

On this day in 1880, a healthy baby girl named Helen Keller was born. When Helen was 19 months old, a febrile illness with no known cause struck her. Historical biographies speculate she had rubella, scarlet fever, encephalitis, or meningitis. Whatever the illness, it left Helen blind and deaf, and…

Experience has taught my husband, Brian, and me that life is what you make it, but you don’t always get to choose the ingredients. We have put a lot of love and other wonderful things into raising our sons Cullen, 22, and Aidan, 21. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) wasn’t…

When I was deciding which college to attend, my health was declining because of pulmonary hypertension (PH). That made my college decision — which for most people is marked by excitement and opportunity — clouded by my needs for accessibility and support. A few weeks before making…

Lately, I’ve realized I’m in a funk and don’t know how long I’ve been going through this season of my life. I feel overwhelmed. But is it connected to my cross-country move last year? Or perhaps I continue to struggle after recovering from COVID-19.  I…

As a co-moderator for the Pulmonary Hypertension News Forums, I’ve encouraged and taken part in many hot topics over the past three years. During that time, I’ve noticed one topic resurfaces often, and it always triggers great responses. Mental health and wellness spur a conversation that pulmonary…

I’ve come out a few times in my life. I came out regarding my sexuality as a member of the LGBTQ community. I’ve also come out as a disabled and chronically ill individual and a member of the pulmonary hypertension (PH) community. Coming out is a deeply personal experience.

For the past two-plus years, I’ve had to be alone because of COVID-19 for every hospital appointment for my idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). A year and a half ago, I began a new relationship — so until very recently, my partner had never been to an appointment with…

As I searched for a new primary care physician (PCP) in March, I learned that finding my new healthcare team after relocating across the country would prove challenging. The first potential candidate spent three hours going over my medical background with me, only to inform me that my health…

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients use several analogies to describe what it feels like to live with the illness each day. One example is that it’s akin to breathing the air at the top of Mount Everest. Another is that the exhaustion makes us feel like we’re constantly running a marathon.