Life After PH – A Column By Kathleen Sheffer

April 10, 2019April 9, 2019

Normal Lung Pressure Adds Pressure to Live to the Fullest

Columns, Life After PH – A Column By Kathleen Sheffer

My anxiety skyrocketed last month without any medical triggers. I celebrate my 26th birthday this weekend, and my third transplant anniversary is a couple of months away. I’m doing ... Read more

March 6, 2019March 12, 2019

Skiing Put My Life with PH in a New Light

Columns, Life After PH – A Column By Kathleen Sheffer

President’s Day weekend was supposed to be monumental. I intended to write a feel-good column about coming full circle. It was my first time skiing post-transplant in the mountains ... Read more

February 14, 2019February 20, 2019

Heart-lung Transplant Inspires Art, Valentines

Columns, Life After PH – A Column By Kathleen Sheffer

The night before my heart-lung transplant, I was in my high school art studio working on an oil painting. I had started painting to pass the time while waiting ... Read more

February 6, 2019February 12, 2019

Gratitude for an Unfair Life

Columns, Life After PH – A Column By Kathleen Sheffer

I am particularly sensitive to feeling left out of activities with friends. This started when I was a young, sick kid. I walked at the very end of the ... Read more

January 2, 2019December 20, 2018

2018: My Year in Review

Columns, Life After PH – A Column By Kathleen Sheffer

2018 was triumphant. I accomplished several of my long-term goals. I had zero organ rejection, so I remained on my lowest dose of prednisone all year, and that meant ... Read more

December 12, 2018December 21, 2018

Echocardiograms Are an Emotional Experience After PH and CHD

Columns, Life After PH – A Column By Kathleen Sheffer

Last week I went in for a cardiac ultrasound (I call this exam an echo). I’ve probably had hundreds of them in my life, but since my heart-lung transplant, ... Read more

November 14, 2018November 20, 2018

My Recent CPAP Use Has Triggered Traumatic Memories

Columns, Life After PH – A Column By Kathleen Sheffer

For 16 years I slept with supplemental oxygen delivered through a nasal cannula. Prone to desaturation at night, I blasted two liters of concentrated oxygen through my nose every ... Read more

October 31, 2018November 8, 2018

Challenges and Insecurities While Working with PH and Transplant

Columns, Life After PH – A Column By Kathleen Sheffer

Lately, I’ve been so busy with my freelance photography business that I haven’t had time to put thought into a new column. I suppose that means it’s time to ... Read more

October 3, 2018October 8, 2018

September Brought Grief and Heavy Hearts

Columns, Life After PH – A Column By Kathleen Sheffer

Claire Wineland’s death on Sept. 2 set the tone for the month. Great losses in my communities clouded September. Claire suffered a stroke after a double-lung transplant. She was ... Read more

August 29, 2018August 28, 2018

Lessons on Persistence from the Desert

Columns, Life After PH – A Column By Kathleen Sheffer

I love the desert. No, this is not a timely column post about Burning Man. Sorry to disappoint. I’ve really only been to the desert twice. The general inconvenience ... Read more