So what do you do for a living?

That's a great question. It amazes me how we can all be "friends" but still not have a clear understanding about our jobs. Mine is not easy to explain, for two reasons, because of the nature of my position and the other because of where I work. I’m an Office Manager for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. That statement alone raises two questions. “Oh, so what does and Office Manger do?”, and “What is Pulmonary Hypertension?” Neither of them is easy to answer so here you go.

As an Office Manager I do anything and everything that I can to help the staff of PHA do their job. If there is a dead mouse, I take care of it. If there is no coffee, I take care of it. If the office is freezing cold, I take care of it. If a staffer wants to move their desk, I help them. If the alarm goes off at 1am, I handle it. If someone wants 1,000 wristbands sent to them, I handle it. That’s not all, when we have over 1,100 patients, care givers, doctors and others affected by PH meet once every two years, and I’m there with everyone from PHA. If we are hosting a lunch on Capitol Hill and doing Lobby visits, I’m there guiding a group of patients to their delegates office. Those are the days that I love coming to work. When you are a witness to all the amazing things the PH community is doing.

I’ve been at PHA for a little over a year now it is has been easy. You see Pulmonary Hypertension is a rare often misdiagnosed disease that can affect anyone. The symptoms of PH, shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, dizzy spells and fainting are so common that doctors often misdiagnose it. PH is so much more than those symptoms, our patients have high blood pressure in their lungs, which means their hearts have to work extra hard to pump blood into their lungs. This causes a tremendous strain on the body and can lead to death. There is currently no cure of PH, but with the tremendous strides the PH community is making there will be one, one day.

On most days I love my job, but when you are speaking with a person who just lost a loved one it can make it hard. My job is very rewarding, yes even the dead mice, cause I know that killing it makes everyone in my office happy and it is easier for them to do their job. This in essence is my job, to make everyone else’s job a little easier.

If you want to learn more about Pulmonary Hypertension visit PHA’s website: http://www.phassociation.org/

(And sometimes I get to work on creating and designing cool little things like this!)

Pink Flamingo!

What? Why did you get a pink flamingo tattooed to your wrist?


Well it’s a funny story, not really it’s a little sad, but it is helping me cope. When I was a little girl, about 7 or so, my mom asked me what I wanted to get my dad for his birthday. I looked around the store we were in and they had the most beautiful pink flamingo lawn ornaments and my dad had to have them. So we purchased the flamingos and on my dad’s birthday he unwrapped the best birthday gift he ever received in his entire life. He proudly displayed those pink flamingos and they traveled with us from house to house. As I got older it was an ongoing joke between my father and I about the pink flamingos. Every time I saw one I bought it for him.

One of the other “special things” my dad and I had was Toby Keith! He loved Toby and whenever Toby had a new CD I would purchase 2 copies, one for me and one for dad. I would always rush over that weekend and we would listen to his new album together. About a month or so after dad passed, Toby released a new cd. I was so sad that I could not share it with my dad, I went to the store on Tuesday morning and purchased my single copy of Toby’s new CD. I opened up the case and right on the front of the CD was a pink flamingo! I cried and laughed and cried and laughed some more.

I miss my daddy every day and sometimes feel like I’m losing some of my memories of him. My dad was the most spectacular man, he raised me on his own from the time I was 12 to the day I got married. He instilled so much in me and all I want to do is make him proud. Whenever I’m sad, missing him or not sure what to do I can look at my flamingo and think of dad!

Why do you seem so different lately?

I’ve been getting that question, and a few others lately so I thought I should clear up a few things. A lot of things are different about me, most importantly I’ve gone back to church and recommitted myself to the Lord. I didn’t even realize how much I missed walking with the Lord, but now that I’m back, I’m realizing it.

Do I regret the past 10 or so years? No, not really. I learned a lot about myself and God has forgiven me of the sins I committed while I strayed.

Am I ashamed of the things I did? A little, but God and others have forgiven me for them.

Am I turning into a “crazed Bible quoting Republican”? Not at all, I’m just being more mindful of my walk with the Lord. I’ll still vote Democrat!

Am I dissolving all of my friendships from the past? No, but don’t expect me to act or behave the way I used to.

Now a question for all of you. Can you accept my re-found faith and respect the fact that I’m not the same person I used to be? If so cool, if not please send me a message so we can chat about it.

Thanks for reading!
Jess