Mike lives in Washington, DC, but calls San Diego home. Mike was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension five years ago. He also manages living with interstitial lung disease, sleep apnea, scoliosis, and a stutter. These chronic conditions are mostly invisible except for when Mike uses oxygen therapy while engaged in rigor exercise or activity. Mike is a communications professional who still works full time. He is excited for readers to join him as he navigates the intersections of living and working with chronic illness.
What is better than the smell and taste of a freshly brewed cup of coffee? Maybe a second cup of coffee? Maybe like me, you find comfort in the simple routine of your morning coffee before work, school, taking care of a loved one, or whatever is on your to-do…
Have you ever seen the view from the top of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.? Maybe you saw the monument during a family or school trip, or perhaps a visit to the National Mall is still on your bucket list? Living in D.C., I sometimes forget how close the…
I haven’t always identified as disabled, even though I lived with disability long before my initial pulmonary hypertension diagnosis in 2016. Adjusting to life with a chronic illness that affects breathing awakened a connection inside me to disability as part of my identity — one I felt had been…
Deck the pool chairs. Fire up those outdoor grills and Hallmark movies, because we’re celebrating Christmas in July! You might view this as an odd way to start a column, especially considering the extreme heat many of us just sweltered through across the U.S. But for me, it’s a…
Living with a chronic illness or rare disease definitely comes with a price tag. There are added expenses related to medical equipment and devices, doctors’ appointments, tests and procedures, and of course, the cost of prescription drugs, which can really pile up month after month. I remember feeling incredibly frustrated…
Pride Month, observed each June, is a time to celebrate LGBTQ history, community, and life through events and parades. Curiously enough, I marched in my first Pride parade years before I had the courage to come out and live authentically. While I think about that experience in San Francisco…
We’re taught to climb ladders. When I played Chutes and Ladders as a kid, I always wanted to land on a ladder because it meant advancement — one step closer to the finish line. Students move up rung by rung from preschool to high school…
“Where do you see yourself in five years?” This is one of my least favorite questions during job interviews, and I hated it even more when I would catch myself lobbing it at prospective co-workers. Oddly enough, if somebody had asked me that question five…
Wonder Woman has an invisible jet. Harry Potter has an invisibility cloak. I have an invisible illness. The people I sit next to on the metro cannot see it. Members of my family cannot always see it. Every day I work with and walk among healthy…
Are you a Grover or a Bert? A Cookie Monster or a Kermit the Frog? You’re probably wondering what Muppets have to do with my journey living with PH. Stay with me. I recently discovered the Muppet Theory, thanks to a colleague who recently asked me if I…
In June, I attended my first Pulmonary Hypertension Association Conference in Orlando, Florida. Sitting in a packed ballroom full of strangers, I had never felt more seen. Many of the faces around me were fellow PHighters, and we were all there for the same reason. I left…
“Do you wear glasses?” The question took me completely off guard. I was standing in line at my local breakfast spot and staring the cashier in the face, wondering if I did, in fact, have glasses on. The cashier pointed at two lines under my eyes that one…
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