Assistance is a Godsend: Manuel Munoz
My name is Manuel Munoz. I was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension by Dr. Hernando Garcia and Dr. David C. Gough from the Texas Tech University Sciences in El Paso, Texas in January 2019.
I was born with a ventricular septal defect, and at the age of six, the defect was corrected with an open heart surgery. It was a successful surgery and I was able to live a normal childhood.
As I became an adult I was able to perform normal activities or at least to the best of my ability. I couldn’t join any of the United States Armed Forces, so I did the next best thing and joined the Texas State Guard. I wanted to do anything I could to serve.
As I became older, I started suffering heart attacks and my doctors couldn’t understand why. Unfortunately, three years ago in April of 2017, I suffered a major set back and my doctors had to re-perform an open heart surgery. They attempted to correct any issues from my first surgery and gave me yet another chance at life. I was then diagnosed with multiple issues, one of them being secondary pulmonary hypertension. Time passed and my health was getting worse. I got to the point of fainting for no reason.
After being admitted during the Christmas holiday season to the hospital at University of Texas at El Paso, Dr. Carolina Ortiz, Dr. Hernando Garcia, and Department of Internal Medicine worked hard to determined I had PAH.
I have been using oxygen and have been given a multitude of medications. The medications are meant to keep me living life to the best of my abilities, comfortably. I am not a quitter. On the contrary, I am a fighter and wake up each day and attempt to live life to the fullest.
I can no longer work and have applied for benefits, but unfortunately that is a long and tiring process. Thankfully, I have the time and patience to get me through. I have been able to look for assistance with medications, and with unmet needs through organizations like Team PHenomenal Hope. I have applied for any type of help possible. Any help is greatly appreciated and it is a godsend.
Manuel is a recipient of the Unmet Needs Fund. Learn more about how this fund supports PH patients at teamph.org/unmetneeds.
