Do You Know What November Is?
*I have sent the following to friends and family for PH Awareness Month! I wanted to post it here, too!*
Do you know what November is? The month of Thanksgiving. Yes, but..................
The month of Veterans Day. Yes, but...................................
Did you know that November is Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month?
Do you know what Pulmonary Hypertension is?
Pulmonary Hypertension is a disease where the blood vessels in your lungs constrict and make it harder for your heart to pump blood into your lungs to get oxygen. This causes the right side of the heart to enlarge and overwork.
Do you know the warning signs of PH? Shortness of breath, chest pain, extreme fatigue, being light-headed, fainting.
Did you know that PH is hard to diagnose? Many of the symptoms of PH can mimic other ailments and diseases.
Did you know there are many reasons for one to have PH? Some people may never find out why they have this disease. Others have it because of a congenital heart condition, or an auto-immune disease. Some have it because they took a diet pill called Phen-phen. You could have 10 PH patients in one room, and each of their causes for having PH could be totally different!
Did you know that PH does not discriminate? Anyone can get PH. Children are born with it. Women in their child-bearing years are more susceptible to developing it. Older people can get it. People of every race can get it. PH has no boundaries.
Most of you know my personal PH story. I was born with PH and congenital heart disease (2 holes in my heart). They were both discovered when I was 9 months old. I have been living with PH for 32 years now. I'm on 2 PH meds right now, oxygen 24/7, a variety of other meds for other issues, and I'm holding my own at the moment. It hasn't been easy, but I've always done the best I could living with PH. I am very active on the Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness website (www.phassociation.org). I host a Tuesday afternoon chat for fellow PHers, and I answer posts on the message boards. I am also a support group leader for PH in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area. It's been a wonderful experience to meet real live people who have been dealing with PH, and who can totally understand what I've been through all my life.
PH is a devastating disease, but there are so many more options available for a newly diagnosed PH patient today than there was when I was born. There are several drug options to choose from, one newly approved this past summer. Combination therapies have been very successful for many PHers. There are some new drugs in trial stages, and will hopefully be approved within the next couple years as another treatment option. And there is always research being done!
My goal with this email is to spread awareness! Since November is PH Awareness month, what better way to do it than email all my friends and family? All I ask is for you to pass this email on to people you know. You won't get bad luck if you don't. However, if more people know the warning signs and more doctors learn more about the disease and more money is spent on research, perhaps more people will be diagnosed early!
What can you do? Pass this on to everybody in your email list. Go to www.phassociation.org to learn more. And go to the doctor if you have any of the warning signs.
And for those of you who are interested in doing a bit more for PH, I have had a fundraiser going on since May. My personal goal is raising $1000 for the PH Association, that will go towards research and development of new drugs and hopefully a cure one day! The money will also help the continuing task of making people in society aware of PH. I have already raised $845, so I'm very close to reaching my goal! To those of you who have already donated, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!! It means a great deal to me that you have supported this cause. If you have not donated, and wish to do so, please click on the link (or copy and paste) at the end of this email after my name. And if you do donate, no matter how much it is, please know that I truly appreciate your contribution! I hope that one day, the cure for PH will be found, and no one else will have to go through what I've been going through all my life!
Thank you for recognizing November as Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month! Now keep this email going all month!!
Love,
Colleen :)
Please visit my websites!
For jewelry: www.fromtheheartjewels.etsy.com
To donate to my PH fundraiser! http://www.firstgiving.com/melonlady1724
Do you know what November is? The month of Thanksgiving. Yes, but..................
The month of Veterans Day. Yes, but...................................
Did you know that November is Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month?
Do you know what Pulmonary Hypertension is?
Pulmonary Hypertension is a disease where the blood vessels in your lungs constrict and make it harder for your heart to pump blood into your lungs to get oxygen. This causes the right side of the heart to enlarge and overwork.
Do you know the warning signs of PH? Shortness of breath, chest pain, extreme fatigue, being light-headed, fainting.
Did you know that PH is hard to diagnose? Many of the symptoms of PH can mimic other ailments and diseases.
Did you know there are many reasons for one to have PH? Some people may never find out why they have this disease. Others have it because of a congenital heart condition, or an auto-immune disease. Some have it because they took a diet pill called Phen-phen. You could have 10 PH patients in one room, and each of their causes for having PH could be totally different!
Did you know that PH does not discriminate? Anyone can get PH. Children are born with it. Women in their child-bearing years are more susceptible to developing it. Older people can get it. People of every race can get it. PH has no boundaries.
Most of you know my personal PH story. I was born with PH and congenital heart disease (2 holes in my heart). They were both discovered when I was 9 months old. I have been living with PH for 32 years now. I'm on 2 PH meds right now, oxygen 24/7, a variety of other meds for other issues, and I'm holding my own at the moment. It hasn't been easy, but I've always done the best I could living with PH. I am very active on the Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness website (www.phassociation.org). I host a Tuesday afternoon chat for fellow PHers, and I answer posts on the message boards. I am also a support group leader for PH in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls area. It's been a wonderful experience to meet real live people who have been dealing with PH, and who can totally understand what I've been through all my life.
PH is a devastating disease, but there are so many more options available for a newly diagnosed PH patient today than there was when I was born. There are several drug options to choose from, one newly approved this past summer. Combination therapies have been very successful for many PHers. There are some new drugs in trial stages, and will hopefully be approved within the next couple years as another treatment option. And there is always research being done!
My goal with this email is to spread awareness! Since November is PH Awareness month, what better way to do it than email all my friends and family? All I ask is for you to pass this email on to people you know. You won't get bad luck if you don't. However, if more people know the warning signs and more doctors learn more about the disease and more money is spent on research, perhaps more people will be diagnosed early!
What can you do? Pass this on to everybody in your email list. Go to www.phassociation.org to learn more. And go to the doctor if you have any of the warning signs.
And for those of you who are interested in doing a bit more for PH, I have had a fundraiser going on since May. My personal goal is raising $1000 for the PH Association, that will go towards research and development of new drugs and hopefully a cure one day! The money will also help the continuing task of making people in society aware of PH. I have already raised $845, so I'm very close to reaching my goal! To those of you who have already donated, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!! It means a great deal to me that you have supported this cause. If you have not donated, and wish to do so, please click on the link (or copy and paste) at the end of this email after my name. And if you do donate, no matter how much it is, please know that I truly appreciate your contribution! I hope that one day, the cure for PH will be found, and no one else will have to go through what I've been going through all my life!
Thank you for recognizing November as Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month! Now keep this email going all month!!
Love,
Colleen :)
Please visit my websites!
For jewelry: www.fromtheheartjewels.etsy.com
To donate to my PH fundraiser! http://www.firstgiving.com/melonlady1724
Comments
-Kathy
That is really great...You are so festive and creative...I may have to start a blog one day,I will need your help I am sure!!!
I look forward to reading your next blog. Take care and enjoy your new couch,
Jen
I guess this is how to post...LOL
Take care,
Jen