Pulmonary Hypertension does not have me

In my previous post I said when I start a support group meeting I say: I have pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary hypertension does not have me. Some of the members have told me this gave them hope... hope to face this disease and not let it consume them. When you have a life threatening dastardly disease you look at things a little differently. Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a progressive disease, marked by shortness of breath and fatigue which can be fatal if untreated. Of course there are other symptoms but those are the top two.
This past month has been an emotional roller coaster for me. I am the recipient of the "Outstanding PH Citizen Award" which will be presented by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association this coming weekend in CA. I cannot attend but trust me when I say "I will be there" -- I have great phriends. And now I want to tell you about them.
When I was notified about the award I reached out to some of my media contacts. The local newspaper did an article and another local paper, a Youngstown, OH TV reporter, Susan Campbell of WFMJ, contacted me and wanted to do a report on PAH. The reporter and a cameraman came to my home and the interview began and lasted almost an hour and a half. We covered pretty much everything. I knew the report would be very short and I am amazed with all that info how concise and well covered that report is. They also have a doctor do the clinical part of the disease and the whole thing is only 2 minutes. I added another one of my "lines" and this brought on some special responses. To view the report copy and paste http://www.wfmj.com/global/category.asp?c=179433&clipId=4871301&topVideoCatNo=127724&autoStart=true
My phriends laughed and basically said you go girl with my remark of "Is it ok to say this: I don't want others to end up being like me with a hose in their nose and a tube in their boob".
I host chat and in my chatroom I don't allow cussing -- and when they heard those words coming from my mouth they couldn't believe that my mild mannered "Clark Kent" female version, said such a thing. In honor of that TV report they came to chat with such names as: Booberella, Boobette, Boobalicious, Lolalabooba, Boobless, Boobsmasher, Boobalicia, Sir Boobless, and Tubelessintheboob... That brought a smile to my face and they made me proud... they also said I made them proud and laugh at the same time. As the evening came to a close I expanded on a line from Bob Hope: Thanks for the mammories... Remember to smile, it's contagious.

Merle