The Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s (PHA’s) PHaces of Hope blog brings you a story of hope from a PHighter named Barbara Thompson, who lives with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and makes it her mission to help spread awareness about PH to everyone.
“The main thing that we all have in common is being misdiagnosed for so long and the lack of awareness of the symptoms for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Had I known them, I might have been able to avoid being bedridden for almost two years,” says Barbara. Prior to her diagnosis, she saw 14 different doctors, had three hospital stays and made many trips to the emergency room (ER).
After a long fight with bronchitis that would not go away, she started seeing a new primary care physician with the hope that this one would be more up-to-date on rare diseases. She soon discovered her PAH diagnosis.
Barbara’s story reveals how long it took her to get properly diagnosed with PH and the process and procedures that she went through. Her PH diagnosis journey has led her to becoming more active in spreading awareness about PH and helping others in the PH community get through tough times. Read more about Barbara’s journey and her story of hope in our PHaces of Hope blog.
