Columns

Happy Halloween! This week, I’m taking you on a journey to a “gross lab.” Yes, that is what it’s called. Four weeks after our son Cullen’s heart and double-lung transplant, we paid our respects to his old organs. Some might consider that morbid, but to us, it was…

The last few months have seemed like a stretch of bad dreams. I’ve felt as if I’ve had little control over my physical health while my medical team has been figuring out its next move. While awaiting medical decisions, my mental health presents an additional…

As I work on my continuing education credits required to maintain my nursing license, I am reminded of how much I miss my days as a nurse. Prior to my diagnosis with pulmonary hypertension (PH), I worked in hospice and palliative care. The transition from nurse to patient…

Advice is like a bag of Halloween candy. You take it home, dump it out on the table, and sort through it. One pile for the good stuff, another to cherry-pick, and one for what you know you will never eat. As a mom and caregiver, I’ve had my fill…

On March 14, 1992, when my husband said, “In sickness and in health,” he had no idea just how important those five words would become. I’m sure that like most couples, we repeated our wedding vows quickly so that we could share that first “married couple” kiss. We were newlyweds,…

“Sometimes that mountain you’ve been climbing is just a grain of sand.” That line is from one of my favorite Carrie Underwood songs, “So Small.” I have listened to this song countless times before procedures, surgeries, and testing, and during hospital stays.

This is probably the hardest column I’ve written to date. It’s about how I deal with thinking about the future. I have been a planner my entire life. Whether it was daydreaming about the color scheme of my wedding when I was a kid, creating a detailed itinerary for trips,…

In last week’s column, I shared how the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted my son Cullen’s prodigious wish to meet President George W. Bush in 2008. To be on the receiving end of this amazing nonprofit organization is extraordinary. The foundation creates adventures that far exceed expectations. To be on the…

Living in the moment feels like an impossible feat while managing a chronic illness. It is hard to keep my mind on the present when so much of my energy is spent planning future appointments, scheduling upcoming tests and procedures, and waiting to hear about previous…

Nowadays, we pay for just about anything imaginable. But today is your lucky day! I’m offering free advice to those of you new to pulmonary hypertension (PH). Those who are “well-seasoned” may learn a few things, too. When I sat down to write this column, I thought back to my…

In last week’s column, I wrote about the challenges of making time for rest. This week, I want to address another significant lifestyle adjustment I’ve made since my diagnosis: my diet. A low-salt diet is recommended for those with pulmonary hypertension. Unfortunately, all of my favorite foods…

In 2008, my 8-year-old son was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH). Being told that Cullen had an incurable, life-threatening illness was traumatic. It was impossible to imagine that there would be happy days following that news. That year, two wish granters from the Make-A-Wish Foundation visited Cullen at home.