ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO GIVE
These are the stories of just a few of the people who generously support the programs, services and research agenda that are so important to the PH community. A complete listing of recent donors can be found at the back of every issue of Pathlight.
Stories of Inspiration and Hope
Grandmother’s Giving Spurred by Hope of New Treatment Options
Henriette Abraham’s granddaughter Rachel was born with PH eight years ago. Her family was devastated. Rachel spent many of her first days on an ECHMO, a machine that assists the heart and lungs, and did not come home from the hospital until she was three-months old. More
Vern Smith Establishes First PHA Endowment in Memory of Wife
Barbara Smith was diagnosed with PH in 1995 and she had difficulty finding hope. Barbara had lost both her daughter and her sister to PH shortly before her diagnosis, and she had little doubt that she would soon meet the same fate. Attending her first PHA conference in 1996 changed her outlook completely. More
Mother of Long-term Survivor Looks to Future
There were few resources available for PH patients when Blossom Gelernter’s daughter Lise was diagnosed with PH in 1978. Blossom first became involved with PHA in the 1990’s, when the young organization was run entirely by volunteers. More
Fighting PH Becomes a Family Affair
Josephine Maggio passed away in 1963, after developing pulmonary hypertension while she was ten weeks pregnant. Her family had no idea that PH could be familial.
But years later Josephine’s sister Anne and her husband John learned the sad truth when their own children, John and Joanne, were diagnosed. More
Wayne Smith Funds Medical Education in Memory of Wife’s Battle
Donna Smith was diagnosed with PH in April 2000, after six months of going back and forth with doctors. She and her husband Wayne were frustrated that so many doctors lacked the knowledge to properly diagnose and treat PH, especially when it came to the new or experimental treatments that emerged in the years following Donna’s diagnosis. More
The Spirit of Giving -- Amanda DaSilva
There seemed to be little or no information available when my sister, Melanie, was diagnosed in 1998 with pulmonary hypertension. I remember finding PHA and being so thankful that this resource existed. That was when my personal campaign with advocacy and awareness began. More
In Time of Progress, Patient and Husband Give Back
Roberta (Bobbe) Browning and her husband, Lee Broadbent, made the extraordinary decision to include PHA in their estate plan. “We’ve gotten so much help and wanted to give back and try to help others by working toward a cure, or at least better treatments,” said Bobbe. As a result, the last time they revised their trust documents, Bobbe and Lee decided to include PHA as one of their remainder beneficiaries. More
Lou Ann Gibbs – Fighting PH with Gifts of Stock
As with many PHers, for years I was misdiagnosed as having panic attacks, altitude sickness or anxiety. As a nurse who took pride in staying fit, having my symptoms dismissed as anxiety was frustrating. Finally I recognized that something was seriously wrong when I attempted ice climbing (of frozen waterfalls) in Ouray, Colorado. That day I actually thought I was close to pushing up daisies (or perhaps icicles). It was then that I took control of my own health and ordered the tests that eventually determined my PH. More
