2011

Trish inspired me by her post about 2011 on caregiving.com. I can brag and say that I'm later than she is! I meant to get this done earlier but it has been a busy start to 2012.

I don't think I achieved as much as Trish but we had some good times/accomplishments. The year started out in January with finding out that Nicole had been chosen as United Therapeutics patient of the year. They manufacture several of the drugs for pulmonary hypertension. They have an annual marketing meeting each year at a different location. For 2011 it was Honolulu, Hawaii. We spent five days at a resort. It was awesome. I had always, since I was a little kid, dreamed of going to Hawaii. Didn't like the flying part though. As a result of this, someone in the company donated to Nicole a brand new Macbook Pro.

In March I believe I found this wonderful site called caregiving.com  and started blogging. I am so blessed to have made so many wonderful friends.

I won the caregifter award on caregiving.com in May and enrolled in Penn Foster's pharmacy technician program. I need to have this completed by May 9th of this year. I hope that I will make the deadline. I was on  the radio show that Denise Brown does through caregiving.com shortly after that to talk about the award and a little about my caregiving experience.  I really enjoyed the experience.

We filed bankruptcy in August which was discharged in December. It is an embarrassing and humiliating experience especially when it is your second time. I will not get into credit card debt again!

Around September or so, I officially became a peer mentor for United Therapeutics where I help and counsel people who are starting on Tyvaso. In November, I had my first speaking gig in which I spoke as a caregiver. It was the first time a caregiver has ever spoke.

Nicole had her first article published in the Pathlight magazine which is put out by PHA. It was her story of being a teenager with this disease along with the article was her picture and a piece of  her artwork.   I was very proud. She also had a piece of artwork in another addition that was a puzzle for the children in which you had to find the differences between the two pictures. It is my understanding that she will have another one of these drawings in the newest magazine that comes out later this month.

We started attending the local PH support group here and Nicole was asked to be the official photographer for the group. Nicole is an excellent photographer. I want to download some of her pictures but haven't gotten to it. She is also going to be in charge of all the literature that is at the meetings about PH and PHA.

We had a wonderful holiday and even though the days are long and hard we are truly blessed.

I have decided that at the end of each month I will write a synopsis of that month so next year at this time I will be able to look back and see exactly what I accomplished.