Being diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH) may feel like life is being turned upside down. One woman is sharing her story to allow others a glimpse into what it’s really like. Here at Patient Worthy, we know that educating others through real-life experiences raises awareness about diseases better than almost anything.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is high blood pressure in the arteries to the lungs. It is a serious condition. If you have it, the blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to the lungs become hard and narrow. The heart has to work harder to pump the blood through. Over time, the heart weakens and cannot do its job and heart failure can develop.
Serena Lewis, the blogger who so honestly discusses what it means to have PH disrupt your life, chose to let the disease set back her thinking, at first. Serena’s post reminded me of a lesson I recently learned.
Dump the Stress
A few weeks ago as I walked into my house, I was trying to juggle a bunch of stuff in my arms and as I walked through the door, I stumbled and fell.
Go ahead and laugh. I did.
As I began to gather all of the stuff that was in my arms, I realized everything had fallen out of my purse. And there was a lot of stuff!
Once I finished laughing at myself, I decided to sort through all the stuff I’d dropped.
First, I started throwing away all the junk that I’d accumulated: Way too many crayons that come with a kid’s menu, a few happy meal toys with broken parts, old receipts, and about three months’ worth of coin change (I have the best intentions of dumping in the coin jar but failed).
While I was rummaging through the junk, I came across a few treasures!
I found my address book that I thought I lost, a package of chap stick I received for Christmas, and one of my favorite pair of earrings.
Finally, as I pulled myself off the floor, I made a promise to myself:
I will stop trying to juggle that much stuff at one time!
So, when life flips us upside down and inside out—if we “fall”—don’t move right away. Stay down. Just for a moment. Dump the stress. Sort to find the treasures. Take it slow. Nice and easy is the way to go.
You, like Serena, don’t have to be defeated. We are all stronger than we think!
