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It starts in Belize. In order to get to the first zipline platform, we have to hike up a hill, and then climb a long, steep, set of stairs.

Part of the way up the steps, I feel like I can’t breathe. I’ve been exercising every day, how can I be this out of shape, I think. I let the others in our group pass by me, until I finally catch my breath. I climb the rest of the stairs.

I have no issues for the rest of the day,

or the rest of the trip. I shrug it off as a fluke.

A few months later we travel to Colorado. We go hiking at Chautauqua Park, in Boulder.

We take an easy trail that meanders up the mountain.

I’m having an impossible time. Going up, I can’t walk more than twenty steps without having to stop.

I can’t breathe. It’s not a huffing from too much exercise can’t breathe, I’m gasping for air, only able to take short breaths that do not seem to deliver oxygen to my lungs.

It takes forever to get up the mountain. Fortunately, once we level off and make our way down, I’m back to normal.

Just after our Colorado trip, I get a huge surprise. I’m the winner of Uncruise Adventures 20^th Anniversary, travel essay contest. My prize is a trip for two on their Costa Rica/ Panama, cruise. Awesome!

While reviewing the itinerary, I notice that there is a good amount of hiking. I don’t want to be the weird girl, who can’t breathe during hikes, so at my routine rheumatology appointment (to monitor my Lupus), I mention my recent, breathing, issues. My doctor thinks it might be related to the pulmonary embolism (caused by my Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome) I had a few years ago, but it’s easier to rule my heart out first, before poking around in my lungs. The rest is a blur…

-Echocardiogram

-Call from the doctor-pressure is found in the right side of my heart. I must go to the hospital IMMEDIATLY, for something called a V-Q scan. The test involves breathing in nuclear gas. Sadly I do not develop super powers. The test is clear, no current, blood clots in my lungs.

-Next I see a cardiologist. The number of appointments with my rheumatologist, increases.

-I have a right heart catheterization procedure. Pulmonary arterial hypertension is confirmed. I start treatment, which consists of adding Viagra to my medication list. 

-I begin seeing a pulmonary hypertension specialist. Because pulmonary hypertension is a rare disease, there aren’t a lot of pulmonary hypertension specialists in the world. I’m lucky. I live near The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. They have an entire center and research team, dedicated to pulmonary hypertension. They are one of the best centers in the world.

Fortunately for me, my pulmonary hypertension was caught early. My prognosis at this point is positive. My heart is still strong and healthy. Most people, diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, are not so fortunate. Most people aren’t travel enthusiasts. They aren’t ziplining in Belize, hiking in Colorado, or doing other activities that trigger symptoms early. The majority of people don’t experience shortness of breath, until they are doing everyday activities, like folding laundry. Usually by that point, the pressure has been quietly deteriorating and weakening their heart.

I am grateful for an early diagnosis and a whole team of doctors, dedicated to, as my new specialist put it, keeping me from “falling off the cliff.”

The condition is incurable (at this point), and progressive. I’m stuck with it, or it is unluckily stuck with me. I’m not in the habit of feeling sorry for myself. I am a fierce, kick-ass, warrior. I plan to continue to travel for as long as it is possible, which will hopefully be a very long time.

There will be life-long, challenges. For example, since we fly often, I have to have a special High Altitude Simulation Test, to see if I need supplemental oxygen when I fly. It will effect my ability to hike, and engage in physically strenuous, activities. I will also have issues breathing, at altitudes above 5,000 ft.

I’ve been greatly blessed to be inflicted with wanderlust and an ability to travel often. If it wasn’t for the trips we took that triggered my symptoms, who knows how long it would have taken to discover a problem. I feel like travel saved my life.

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