06/18/2023
Fifteen years ago I was diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension and told that the fact I had passed out was ominous and showed how serious it was. At the time, I was one in a million. Now the odds of someone having PH are higher, only because the awareness of this zebra disease has increased. Alex had just turned three and Johnathan was 7, and I was sure that I wasn’t going to see them grow for long. Thankfully, the 24/7 constant IV drop, along w some other oral medications were able to slow the progression and I have witnessed both the boys graduating from high school. Goal number 1 has been attained. Now I’m shooting for college graduations, weddings and someday, hopefully grand babies. This is not the life I had hoped for as a young wife and mother, but I have tried to make the best of it and live my life as best as I can in this situation. I am thankful that God thinks I have more work to do here, and that I was given more than the time I was expecting, especially when I was about to be listed for transplant in 2010. I’m thankful that some drug companies still see the importance of studying this disease and finding new treatments and hopefully a cure one day. I am also thankful for the surgeons that have discovered ways to help certain PH categories with a clot removal surgery so that they can go on to live better lives and maybe fulfill their goals of having a child. And I remember all the PHriends that have passed before me, sometimes having been diagnosed only a short time, as well as the PHriends that have endured transplants and are struggling (or struggled and lost) with the new condition. This is a MILESTONE year for sure. I was expecting maybe 5 without a transplant and maybe this many with a transplant (transplanted lungs are very finicky creatures, unlike many other organs) .