“Even though she has to continue to wear the O2, [PTE Surgery] has kept her living and having fun with life!”
The Story of my Beloved Mother, Mary!
by Gina Tarrence (Caregiver)
“This is a story about my beloved mother, Mary.
She was diagnosed with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) back in 2013. We live in Iowa, and we were sent to UIHC for treatment. The doctor there told us there was only one treatment for her kind of pulmonary hypertension (PH), and it meant going to San Diego, Calif., to get PTE surgery. Arrangements were made quickly and we were off to sunny San Diego. It took us four days to get there by driving. Mom was on high volumes of O2, so we could not fly. She had PTE surgery on June 21, 2019, and we were out there for six weeks.
This amazing surgery, along with new life saving medications and continuous O2, has my mother living life today! I am getting ready to take her on a trip in the next few days. Without the surgery she would not have survived.
We are blessed to have such amazing doctors here to provide this state of the art, lifesaving procedure that she had. Even though she has to continue to wear the O2, this has kept her living and having fun with life! She loves to have fun, and I am so happy to do this with her!”
