It was like any other morning commute. Stand on the platform with crowds of people, all waiting for the delayed metro train, a more-than-common occurrence in Washington, D.C. When the train arrived around 8, its doors opened and I stepped aboard. Not more than 15 seconds later, a…
Columns
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…
Last year, I wore a black face mask every day during the month of October. People stopped me on the street to guess my costume. I wasn’t posing as Hannibal Lecter, Batman’s Bane, or Darth Vader, though passing strangers delighted in rasping,…
My obsession with hope began when it was taken away from me nearly four years ago. I was alone in a doctor’s office, watching snow fall through the window. My parents had been taken out of the room to talk privately with my doctor, which I…
“I’m fine,” I said to myself as I pushed through hockey games feeling awful. “I’m fine,” I convinced myself as I put on makeup to hide my tired complexion. “I’m fine,” I repeated as I went out despite having little energy. “I’m…
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…
One holiday season a few years ago, I was sprinting through the Atlanta airport desperately trying to make a flight home to San Diego. I ran right up to the gate and was one of the last passengers to board the plane. Winded, yes, but I didn’t feel…
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…
For months, I agonized over how to offer my condolences to people I’d never met for a loss about which I had no details. I imagined different situations. How different it might be for a parent to receive the letter, compared to a child or a…
It might be just allergies. It’s probably just a cold. It might be just a little bug. For those who don’t battle chronic illness every day, it’s hard to imagine what an acute illness actually…
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…
At the start of pulmonary rehabilitation, I was asked to write out a goal to work toward throughout the three months of sessions. Without realizing how unrealistic it sounded, I jotted down that I would like to run a 5K race. At this point, I was newly diagnosed…
