The PHA community is a network of people with diverse backgrounds and experiences living their best lives. PHA highlights those experiences through inspiring first-person stories in our Right Heart Blog.
The past 23 years have shown Dawn Meador how strong she is. Since her 1998 diagnosis, she’s learned much about herself and how to appreciate little things. Dawn, of Suffolk, Virginia, shares her long-time pulmonary hypertension journey for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s 30th anniversary.
Kayla Naecker had classic signs of pulmonary hypertension, but didn't suspect PH. She later learned her PH was genetic.
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) was no stranger to Albert Wright when she was diagnosed in 2018. Her oldest sister and a niece died from it. But Alberta lives life to the fullest, taking nothing for granted. She leads the Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s Detroit Support Group and administers a PHA Facebook support group page. A full-time teacher’s aide, she shares her PH journey with PHA’s Right Heart Blog for National Family Month in June.
Monica Penaranda thought her life was shattered when a pulmonary hypertension diagnosis ended her days of cheerleading, track and varsity softball. Instead, she reconfigured her life goals. Twenty-three years later, Monica, a member of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) Board of Trustees, is the face of PHA’s spring fundraising campaign.
Gwendolyn Brown has lived with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) for more than 40 years. She has survived a heart attack, three strokes and 11 mini strokes. She leads the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA)’s Cleveland Community Support Group and is a minister at Zion Pentecostal Church of Christ.
A month before Genevieve Hughes turned 50, severe shortness of breath forced her to seek emergency treatment. “I thought I was just getting older and out of shape,” says Genevieve, who later learned she had idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension and eventually would need a double-lung transplant. Now two years post-transplant, she’s breathing deeply and enjoying her gift of life.
Diane Ramirez of Lexington, North Carolina, was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension in 1987. At the time, fewer than 200 cases were known of the disease then known as primary pulmonary hypertension (PH). Diane originally shared her PH journey in the December 2020 Pathlight magazine, which launched the Pulmonary Hypertension Association’s 30th anniversary celebration.
Diagnosed with PH when she was born, Sarah Donoughue spent most of her life living with pediatric PH. In 2019, she received a double lung transplant. Read her story.
In 1966, 8-year-old Laura Hooley underwent surgery to repair a congenital heart defect. The surgery allowed her to play volleyball, ski and enjoy relatively good health. But her CHD eventually led to pulmonary hypertension. For American Heart Month, she shares what gave her new hope.
