Life - Liberty - Freedom

You've heard of high blood pressure (hypertension), a common condition that affects the way your blood flows through the arteries in your body from the left side of your heart. A less common type of high blood pressure, called pulmonary hypertension, affects only the arteries in the lungs and the right side of your heart.

Pulmonary hypertension begins when tiny arteries in your lungs, called pulmonary arteries and capillaries, become narrowed, blocked or destroyed. This makes it harder for blood to flow through your lungs, which raises pressure within the pulmonary arteries. As the pressure builds, your heart's lower right chamber (right ventricle) must work harder to pump blood through your lungs, eventually causing your heart muscle to weaken and sometimes fail completely.

As many of you know I volunteer for the PHA Help Line -- yesterday I received a call from a soldier and I thought of the above.

He wants to decorate his 1999 Malibu in memory of his wife who died 4 years ago after struggling for 5 years with PAH. He called to ask for permission to use the PHA logo along with the website, the flame of hope and the purple ribbon would go from tip to stern. He also wants to put PATHLIGHT on the side overlapping the doors. It would be a PHA logo in motion.

He told me how he put on over 300K miles on this car -- his wife's car -- driving her to and from appointments first to Duke when they lived in NC, then when they moved to KY to the Univ of KY. We talked of treatments the care involved and the grief that can follow.

Since her death he has continued to donate $100 per month to PHA in her memory. He is now stationed in Afghanistan and as we spoke I could hear the roar of the jets as they flew overhead. When he returns from Afghanistan this December, he will start decorating the Malibu and raise awareness about pulmonary arterial hypertension.

He also mentioned how he has educated the medical staff there about this disease to the point that one of the nurses who was going for an additional degree did her paper on PAH... He is such an advocate for all of us in the PH Community. He made me proud I had the opportunity to speak with him.

Let us truly appreciate, especially this weekend ~ Memorial Day Weekend, how our soldiers go above and beyond the call of duty not only to protect us but also to be such advocates for our cause.

Let's remember to pray for those in uniform. In memory of those who have died so that we may live the life to which we are accustomed to living and in honor of those who still defend those rights and our liberties -- both who have paved the way for our freedom.

Every day should be a day of rememberance to those in uniform -- A Memorial Day of sorts but more.

Merle - Now is a time to SMILE -- to show our thanks -- and remember it's contagious

Since December 2000 in an effort to help Americans

remember the true meaning of Memorial Day the

"National Moment of Remembrance" asks that at

3 p.m. local time ALL Americans pause for moment

of silence in remembrance and respect.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

What is a Mother -- a Mom, a Mommy, a Mum or to some it is Mother...

She's the one who kisses that boo boo and makes it feel better, the one who listens to what you have to say -- and sometimes does not agree with what it is you are saying but still listen. The one who gives out hugs and expects to get many more back.

Mom's are among the ones who help you learn lessons of life -- like baking cookies, some can even teach you how to sew -- some can not *;* ~ how to cook a meal, wash clothes, many of the "daily tasks" that seem so behind the scenes but are there. Many Moms do this but again, many can not. They teach responsibility.

Lessons on how to get along with others and how to make friends -- how to settle an argument. There are volumns to be learned and in return Moms learn from their children as well. They can teach you how to play sports -- how to dance... their circle of knowledge is vast; their teaching ability seems unlimited.

They learn and share their compassion, to feel anxious when their children arrive home later than expected; to feel grief when a child is lost to a greater being or dispair when a child is lost to an unknown disaster of life such as drugs or alcohol ~ when that road of life goes astray.

Mom's, Mother's, Mommies show love, caring, compassion and responsibility -- it does not always show from the viewpoint of a child but trust me when I say they do love their children no matter what.

A Mom

The Ceiling -- Part Three

The disrepair was about to begin, or repair or whatever it should be called... Tom had taken down all the old tiles and the next day he and Byran came over to help put up those runners and put the new ones in. Things were moving along smoothly and that should have been a hint as to what was about to happen. They figured about a 2 hour job at the most and I would have a new ceiling... another hint.

Bryan -- who recently became engaged to our daughter Tammy -- wanted things to be right. His heart is in the right place... that corner where the plumbing was repaired for the upstairs was just below the level of the tile. He said if we pull up that pipe with an old wire coat hanger, it should work -- another hint of doom and disaster. The plumbing hung down about an inch below the tile. I said you could cut an area out, it wouldn't really show....I was thinking of an easy way. It was decided to pull up that plumbing and do it right. Now the chore was finding an old wire coat hanger and that believe it or not was a chore. We finally found one in an upstairs closet. Pliers, screws, the operation was now underway. Slowly the plumbing was brought up to where it should be BUT WAIT... one little side tract of the plumbing was still too low. So a trip to the hardware store was in order. A bracket or brace was needed over here, might have to cut an inch up on this pipe there, then connect it back up again....

They returned from the hardware store, cut a little here, connected a piece there and viola it looked great and should be perfect... So Tom goes upstairs and runs the water in the tub. Bryan and I are downstairs with our fingers crossed and a little drip is spotted. So back to the hardware store to buy something for the "joints", not sure what was wrong. I think it might have been a larger plier to tighten up a connection but I'm not sure. A slop of this here, wipe at little there, tighten this here make sure that's ok there. Tom goes upstairs again and runs the water -- NO LEAK. Whoo Hoo. Then all of a sudden we hear this CRACK, Bryan and I look at each other -- no leak... then all of a sudden there is water running down the side of the wall and he yells to Tom to shut the water off.

Well wouldn't you know, the Y connection between the commode and the tub, the sewer line, snapped. OH NO BUCKWHEAT. So back to the hardware store, need pipe for the size of the sewer line with the proper things to make a conneciton. Some of this, some of that -- good thing they bought that special glue and those pliers.... Finally they finished, Tom goes up stairs once again to run the water -- NO LEAKS... DA DAH Time now to cut that last piece of tile to fit into that corner...

So what should have been a 2 hour job turned into a 2 day job but it sure does look beautiful.... Now for the kitchen wall...

Smile -- it's contagious and it sure helps when doing something like a cieling :o)