Columns

Last week, I had a follow-up with my pulmonary hypertension specialist. I find it hard to mentally prepare for these appointments. In the days and weeks leading up to my appointment, I start to panic, worrying about whether I seem more short of breath or if…

I have experienced what it’s like having a visible illness for two years. For 24 years, it was invisible. I find myself asking, is it more troubling to receive awkward glances, strange remarks, and have people think I am critically ill when I use…

This podcast series, created and produced by phaware, is being offered as a regular guest feature on Pulmonary Hypertension News to bring the voices and life experiences of PH patients, family members, caregivers, healthcare specialists, and others to our readers. You may listen to the podcast directly, or read it…

This podcast series, created and produced by phaware, is being offered as a regular guest feature on Pulmonary Hypertension News to bring the voices and life experiences of PH patients, family members, caregivers, healthcare specialists, and others to our readers. You may listen to the podcast directly, or read it via…

Sometimes when I think about the symptoms of pulmonary hypertension — dizziness, shortness of breath, dry cough, and chest pain — I wonder if my diagnosis had just been waiting a decade to hear its name. When I was in my teens and early 20s, I loved the rush of…

Knowing that transplant was my plan when all else failed, I lacked the curiosity to gather information before making a decision. I focused on survival: More information only increased my anxiety. During my training class, I scribbled in a sketchbook and relied…

Five years ago, I would have sat in silence in a doctor’s office as my mom recited my long medical history. Five years ago, I would have felt that my body wasn’t my own. I would have distracted myself from how I felt. I would…

This podcast series, created and produced by phaware, is being offered as a regular guest feature on Pulmonary Hypertension News to bring the voices and life experiences of PH patients, family members, caregivers, healthcare specialists, and others to our readers. You may listen to the podcast directly, or read it…

The office looked like an Ikea showroom. I didn’t know what I was going to say, or how he would respond. It was my first time seeing a therapist and I found myself there at the urging of loved ones. At this point, in May 2016, I was a little…

This podcast series, created and produced by phaware, is being offered as a regular guest feature on Pulmonary Hypertension News to bring the voices and life experiences of PH patients, family members, caregivers, healthcare specialists, and others to our readers. You may listen to the podcast directly, or read it…

The hard part I’ve heard that waiting for the transplant is the hardest part. Every day after my transplant, I heard, “This is the hardest part,” leaving me a firm believer in relativism and forever poised for future “hardest parts.” When I went on the heart-lung transplant list,…

It’s the feeling of dizziness. It’s the fatigue that seems to come out of nowhere, the inability to concentrate on the mindless TV show in front of me and the headache the pulses through me that alerts me that my oxygen levels are low.