PH Secondary to Scleroderma: Bridgette Redfield
My name is Bridgette Redfield, I’m 46 years old. In 2015 I kept having shortness of breath. When walk coming into work from the parking lot, I noticed I would have to stop and catch my breath. I thought to myself, “OK, I need to get back on my exercise routine ASAP!”
I was already seeing a cardiologist, so I let him know what was going on. He referred me to a pulmonologist. That’s when I was told he would need to run tests on me to see exactly what was going on. He put me on oxygen that day and sent me home.
Fast forward September of that year. My husband found me on the floor outside of the bathroom. I had passed out from lack of oxygen. I’m not sure how long I was there because I can’t remember too much from that moment. The ambulance was called and I was taken to the hospital. I stayed there for about a week. I had to be put on oxygen 24/7 after that. A couple years later I was diagnosed with scleroderma. It’s a disease that attacks your organs. It was confirmed that my PH is secondary.
I have to say that life for me has changed drastically. I’m very independent, and accustomed to doing things on my own without help. I’m thankful that God spared me to be here with my family. I have good days and bad days. This disease is very unpredictable. If I go out for a day, I will have to rest up several days to get my energy back up. This is definitely my new normal, but I have faith that things will get better for me.
I pray they find a cure for this disease. I no longer work so it has made things tight around the home. I’m grateful for programs like Team Phenomenal Hope’s Unmet Needs Patient Impact Fund that are able to help PH patients with unmet needs. Running my oxygen concentrator 24/7 can be very costly on the utility bill. Thank you Team PH for your generosity!
Bridgette is a recipient of the Team PHenomenal Hope Unmet Needs Patient Impact Fund. Learn more about how this fund supports PH patients at teamph.org/unmetneeds.
