Stories of PH

Let Me Be Your Lungs Spotlight: Micheal Garrett

February 28,2024

Our friend Micheal joined our Let Me Be Your Lungs program for 2024, and he is our team’s first ever speed skater. We sat down with him to learn more about why he joined the team and his goals for the year.

Tell us a little bit about why you decided to join Let Me Be Your Lungs!

I am racing for my wife, Niya. She was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension in December of 2017. She has been fighting PH for eight years and I have always felt like I needed to do more. 

We love that people get creative with their fundraising! Can you share more about how you got into speed skating?

Our son was introduced to speed skating in November 2022 and fell in love with it. He and some of the other parents started encouraging me to skate. I thought about it for a while and told my wife that I could use skating to raise awareness for PH. My wife was hesitant at first, but she was OK with me just practicing. She was worried about me getting hurt. When it came time for me to sign up for my first competition, it took a lot of convincing to get her to agree. After the competition we talked and we both thought that I needed to do more by getting involved with raising awareness and joining a group like Team PHenomenal Hope. 

What advice do you have for someone just getting started with their fundraising and/or race training journey? 

Don’t be scared to get out of your comfort zone. I am still struggling with being scared of posting videos on my social media accounts, but it’s getting easier and all the positive comments from others makes it very rewarding. 

What are you looking forward to this year being a part of LMBYL?

I have only been a part of the LMBYL program for a couple months and I always feel like I am a part of the team. I am definitely looking forward to being a big part of LMBYL for this great cause. I am also looking forward to finding out how I could do more to help this great cause.