Some may recall that Cindy was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH) in 2005 after 2 1/2 years of several doctors trying to figure out why she was so short of breath.  She would get dizzy to the point if she raised her arm to dry her hair she would almost pass out. Her heart would race 150 or more just going up a flight of stairs at a snail's pace and by the time she was near the top she was crawling. Fatigue level was so great if she took a load of laundry out of the dryer she would have to rest for 30 minutes before she had the energy to fold them.

PH briefly stated is like high blood pressure in the lungs. The pulmonary arteries that carry blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs to pick up oxygen become progressively narrowed. The heart has to work harder. Being overworked the heart enlarges and fails as a pump.  There are now 10 drugs used to help manage PH.  They are a great band aid but there is no cure.  When the drugs no longer work the only other treatment that may be considered is a lung transplant. PH develops in all ages, both genders and any ethnic backgroud.

Cindy improved but it took almost a year to find the right mix of medicine as some drugs work for some people but not others. Today she is doing well but still gets out of breath easily.  There is always this cloud hanging over --is this the day the drugs no longer work? In 2008 she started passing out again so a third drug was added to the medicine cocktail.  The drugs are extremely expensive.  It is not uncommon to cost $300,000 a year for some patients.

There are approximately 30,000 people in the US with PH which is classifies as a rare disease. It is believed PH is very underdiagnoised or mis-diagnosed as the symptoms are similar to several other diseases such as asthma or  congestive heart failure.

Help us find a CURE by golfing at Pudding Ridge on April 28th or make a donation for PH research, the key for that cure! We have had some of the greatest silent auction items ever.  Here is a picture of Cindy holding the NASCAR helmet signed by the 2011 inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  Signatures included Junior Johnson, Richard Petty, Bobby Alison, Ned Jarret and a couple more--an unbelievable donation by a wonderful young woman.

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