When it comes to scheduling appointments, I say the earlier the better. I love first-thing-in-the-morning physical therapy sessions. The commute is quieter, as my neighborhood and city are still waking up, and the late-summer heat hasn’t yet turned the concrete into hot stones. There’s a sense of accomplishment in finishing…
PHighting Words
— Mike Naple
Mike Naple (he/him) lives in Washington, D.C., but calls San Diego, California, home. Mike was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension in 2016. 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 public affairs and communications professional who still works full time. He is excited for readers to join him as he navigates the intersections of disability, chronic illness, rare disease, public policy advocacy, and living with PH.
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If you’re in the United States, you probably know there’s an election happening on Nov. 3. Local, state, and federal candidates are all vying for elected office with big ideas on why they should serve and represent their constituents next term. You might even be annoyed by all the candidate…
When did you last speak to somebody on the phone? I don’t mean communication via email, text messages, Slack, Signal, Instagram, or other digital platforms. People today tend to opt for the more casual text- or chat-based connections. I imagine, though, that if you have pulmonary hypertension (PH) or…
There’s a sentiment that a book finds you at the right time in your life. Sometimes, when you have a chronic illness like pulmonary hypertension (PH), that book finds you when you’re sitting on a bench outside of a hospital. Recently, that book for me was “Famesick,”…
If you were fixin’ to connect with pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients in June, you would’ve found a whole contingent of us camped out in Dallas. The PH community took the Lone Star State by storm for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s biennial International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions. Alongside…
Recent news from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed what many of us have likely felt while grocery shopping — prices are going up. The Consumer Price Index rose 3.8% year-over-year in April, and is higher than the 3.3% measurement in March. As inflation continues to climb,…
Audiences are flocking to movie theaters this spring to see “Project Hail Mary.” Readers, myself included, gobbled up Taylor Jenkins Reid’s latest novel, “Atmosphere” — a tale of astronauts in love. People were glued to their televisions as NASA launched the Artemis II mission into space. Traveling to…
A decade later, I still remember standing in the kitchen on a phone call that would change my life. On that morning in March 2016, I left my apartment and returned nearly two weeks later with a pulmonary hypertension (PH) diagnosis. I never thought I’d reach this milestone: living…
Sometimes a news headline rattles you so deeply that you’re still thinking about it nearly two months later. I probably can’t shake this particular headline because I was at the airport when I read the article. Let’s rewind to the week before last Christmas, when I was preparing to fly…
My relationship with acceptance, especially regarding my body and sense of self, has always been complicated. Then, a pulmonary hypertension (PH) diagnosis brought an avalanche of changes into my life and forced me to rethink my approach. As a child, my family spent summers in upstate New York, exploring…
During the holidays, I love spending time in the kitchen, using all my favorite devices to bake cookies and other treats that remind me of past Christmas celebrations. With a stand mixer, food processor, cookie press, and immersion blender, I feel like I’m starring in my own Food Network cooking…
If you’re reading this, it means I’ve started to find my “PHighting” words again. A lot has happened since I last wrote a column for Pulmonary Hypertension News, and I’m readjusting after a hospitalization that shook my world like an earthquake. A little over a year ago, my recovery…
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