Columns

The day you get called in for a transplant is a strange one, filled with all sorts of extreme experiences. Something most people might not know is that, in an attempt to execute the transplant procedure efficiently, patients are taken to the operating room before the donor organs even arrive…

The words I wasn’t prepared to hear went something like this: “Mrs. Cueva, it seems that you have a rare and life-threatening illness.” My mind immediately flashed back to months earlier, when a local doctor had told me that if I had pulmonary hypertension (PH), it would be “a death…

I enjoy hot peppermint mochas year-round. Going through the Starbucks drive-thru is my favorite daily routine and the only line I don’t mind waiting in. I use it as an opportunity to relax, pray, listen to music, scroll through my phone, read, or gaze out the window. The…

The pandemic has been especially hard on people with disabilities, chronic illness, and rare diseases. Our community has faced ongoing ableist attitudes toward safety measures and protocols meant to keep disabled, immunocompromised, and other high-risk individuals protected from a pandemic with a death toll in the United States…

Living with pulmonary hypertension (PH) requires a great deal of self-awareness and analysis to distinguish between PH symptoms and treatment side effects. This effort becomes even more challenging when comorbidities come into play. Roger Bliss, a Pulmonary Hypertension News forums member, provides an example of such challenges. He…

“There were nights of endless pleasure. It was more than any laws allow.” Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” is a classic. As I sang along, I couldn’t help but wonder, what kind of sex is Celine Dion having, and where can I sign up? One of…

My family loved dogs before I even came into the picture. My parents’ first child was a golden retriever named Sadie. Although I don’t remember her, she lives on through our family’s dog stories. The first dog I remember properly, the one I’d consider my childhood pet, was Chester. We…

I’ll never forget the day I knew something was wrong with my body. It was sending me warnings. The symptoms included increased shortness of breath from minor activities like talking, presyncope, which is the sensation of nearly fainting, heart palpitations, and swelling in my abdomen and lower extremities. I…

Did you know that since 1995, we have designated Feb. 6 as “Pay a Compliment Day” in the U.S.? Adrienne Koopersmith was inspired to create it when the bus she was on picked up someone who was nowhere near a stop but in obvious need of a ride. Koopersmith…

Living with the physical health challenges that pulmonary hypertension (PH) places on a patient is hard enough, but the disease can also wreak havoc on mental wellness. There really is no opting out of PH mind games when life is the prize you have your eye on. Mortality statistics,…

By the end of my freshman year of college, it had become a bit of a joke that I would never be caught around campus in sweatpants. While my roommates and peers relished the university lifestyle of casual clothing, I was rarely seen in anything other than a fully put-together…

When I walk my dog around my new neighborhood carrying my oxygen, my neighbors seem to look at me like I’m an alien. Many stare and gawk, as if they’re speculating about what my invisible illness might be, since I otherwise appear to be a healthy…