Your Stories

When I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension in December 2018, I was too sick to try any other medicine than the IV pump. And though it saved my life and gifted me with a few more precious years, I can’t help but think about the circumstances that allowed for that solution to be sustainable, at least for a little while. I lived with someone. I had family close by. I had dexterity in my limbs and the mental function to handle the logistics of everything that came with the

What would you say to yourself at the moment everything changed? In this honest and inspiring talk, Derek Henderson of Toronto reflects on what he would tell his newly diagnosed self after learning he had CTEPH in 2012. From the shock of no longer being able to bike to undergoing PEA (PTE) surgery and adapting to lifelong blood thinners, Derek shares a journey shaped by resilience, humor, and hard-earned perspective. Guided by his motto — “If you’re going to be a duck, lea

Living Grief Like many of you, I was raised in a culture where death was darkness, morose and devastating. When we wore black and spoke in hushed tones around the topic, bit never directly about it. IT... the word was taboo. Analogies of "going to sleep forever" and "crossing over to a better place" made the subject unattainable. My arm’s length relationship with death shrouded its mystery in a dark cloak. And then, at 37 years young, I learned that PAH was taking over. I h

Today I received the first phone call. An unknown doctor. Emotionless and professional, her question strikes quickly to the task at hand: "I have received paperwork. Tell me what's going on." Okay, big breath, I've been preparing for this... and yet I am disarmed by the sudden line of questioning from a stranger. Something deep within propels me forward and I find the simple words to define my truth: "I have been living with pulmonary arterial hypertension for 5 years. IV me

Sometimes the challenges we face in life lead us to make a difference in the world. When we were younger, our mom was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension. This sudden change in our lives at such a young age put us in a position where we had to develop a growth mindset and focus on caring for our mom, as the way she has cared for us ever since we came into this world. Seeing her fight this battle every day when she was struggling to do everyday tasks such as walking up the s

Kate Salonga represents PHA Canada at the 2025 PH Professional Network Symposium hosted by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (US)....

PHA Canada is proud to collaborate with the Sickboy Podcast (CBC) on a special episode of The Breakdown: “ From Six Months to Tears of...

Taking in stories over this Disability Pride Month has left me both humbled and hopeful. A few weeks ago, I started doing some work for a...

I was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in June 2024. In hindsight, knowing the symptoms as I do now, I might have had...

Hello. My name is Denise Rumbolt and I’d like to tell you about my daughter, Candice. Like any mother, I’ll tell you she’s beautiful,...

My name is Cindy Hayman, and I have been living with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) for the past seven years. I am classified as a...

I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension in 2019. After tests & procedures, it was determined I likely had group 2 and 3 PH. Group 2...

The 2024 Pulmonary Hypertension Patient Symposium in Calgary was my first rodeo, as it were. I started dating my partner Tarya in the...

Angel Ouellet One day when I was six years old, I saw a favourite teacher at the end of the corridor at school and ran to give them a...

Rose Jardim When I was 50 years old, I cut myself while shaving my legs. And then the cut just didn’t heal. It developed into a deep...

Tarya Morel Looking back, I’ve had difficulties with shortness of breath for as long as I can remember, but it never really occurred to...

Blog 4/6 - Getting there Guillaume and I love road-tripping! Ever since we met in 2001, we have frequently hit the road in search of...

Blog 3/6 - Easter Seals When a family welcomes a child, many will say that "it takes a village"; I would say the same when someone...

Blog 2/6 - PLANNING Planning is key, as long ahead as possible. I started in December 2023 for a trip in June 2024, and worked on this...

Introduction: Blog 1/6 We are the Belliveau-Thibeault Family from Dieppe, New Brunswick. This year we received an opportunity to...

I was a healthy and fit 59-year-old woman living in Winnipeg, MB, at the start of 2020. Then I started feeling like something was wrong....

Hi, my name is Suzanne Martin Wagnell, and I’ve just turned 60 years old in January. My husband and I are both retired and living our...

Our daughter, Georgiana McAlpine, 10, was fortunate to receive a wish from Make-A-Wish Canada this past July! She was diagnosed with PAH...

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the body. The most common form of lupus is systemic lupus erythematous (SLE)....

Scleroderma and Pulmonary Hypertension Comorbidities, the simultaneous presence of two or more medical conditions in a patient, present...

As we celebrate Black History Month, I think of how far we’ve come and still have to go regarding race. Being a mixed-race child raised...

I have had the privilege of attending multiple Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders (CORD) Conferences over the last few years. It is...

Click here to watch Jo-Anne Mainwood interview on CTV News Ottawa --------- Jo-Anne Mainwood has been living with Pulmonary Arterial...

I suffered from osteoarthritis for many years, or so I was told. I broke bones easily and had two knee replacements, one in 2013 and one...

My Husband Ron and I married in 1997. I didn’t know then, but the shortness of breath and fatigue I had been feeling for the previous...

In July 2015, I came down with what I thought was a chest cold that never seemed to get better. I spent the next three months going to my...

I first started noticing symptoms approximately seven months after the birth of my second child in 1996. In April 1997, I was diagnosed...

In 2016, I was an active 32-year-old. My boyfriend and I were trying to have a baby, and pulmonary hypertension, a disease I had never...

Having lived with PAH for over 12 years, I vowed never to let it control my life. Our family loves to travel, and I was not about to hold...

The first time I heard the words, "I think you have Scleroderma and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension" was in January of 2012 was from my...

I applied to join the PHA Canada Board of Directors in 2018 because I wanted to give back to the PH community and contribute towards...

Twenty years ago, I first heard the words pulmonary hypertension. An emergency CT scan sent me to the hospital. I was in congestive heart...

15 years. Wow! Has it been that long since the small group of us got together with a vision of starting a national organization in...

Emily's story is featured by Patient Voice * “I was working as a litigator in Toronto when I was diagnosed with chronic thromboembolic...

Greetings. My name is Stephen Winter, and I’m from Oakville, Ontario. I want to share my story about chronic thromboembolic pulmonary...

My journey to chronic illness has been a long one. My official diagnosis came in 2007, but I’d had signs and symptoms for quite a long...

The 21st anniversary of my PH diagnosis came, and I had to pinch myself. I started thinking about all the things that happened on the...

Esther's story is featured by Patient Voice * “Since I moved to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago, I’ve always been on the go — working,...

Being the mom of an ambitious, artistic dreamer has been a fun journey. From a very young age, Brinley always said, “mom, I want to...

My name is Michael Mayville, and I live in Toronto with my wife, Nicole. We are the proud parents of two children: Vance, our 8-year-old...