Hello everyone, my name is Kaitlynn Parker!

I am 23 years old and just recently got put on hospice care. I was diagnosed with a rare terminal chronic illness called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension at 8 years old. This year, I celebrated my 15-year anniversary of being diagnosed with PAH. I have had PAH since I was born but was misdiagnosed with severe Asthma until I was 8.

On October 6, 2008, I was officially diagnosed with PAH. PAH is a rare heart and lung disease. PAH is a type of high blood pressure in the lungs. In PAH, this increased pressure in the vessels is caused by obstruction in the small arteries in the lungs.

PAH affects the arteries in my lungs and the right side of the heart. How I explain it is the tight chest and shortness of breath disease. Me walking 10 steps is the equivalent to you running 1 mile under 6 minutes, and then you get a million dollars. So just think about how out of breath you would be after running that mile, and the chest pains and the muscle aches and the dizziness, that’s what I get from walking 10 steps.

Recently, I get these symptoms by just laying down in my bed. The left side of my lung is caved in, causing the right side of my heart to overwork and pumping harder to supply blood to my body, and adding collapsed vessels makes it even harder for my heart to supply blood throughout my body. Most of my organs are oxygen-deprived, and my legs and arms are always purple because I don’t get enough oxygen. This has been my struggle for 23 years. I am on 5 different medications. I need daily and nightly oxygen. I have a wheelchair I use when I leave the house because I can’t walk anywhere. When I am at my house, I use a walker to get around. I got a handicap sticker when I was 18.

I was in the Make a Wish program and was granted a wish. My wish was to go somewhere warm and swim with dolphins. My family and I were gifted a week-long trip to Hawaii, where my brother and I swam with dolphins. We went on an ATV tour through the movie sites that were made in Hawaii, went to a luau and got to see a performance and have a traditional Hawaiian dinner. I drank out of pineapple and spent a day at the beach where we saw sea turtles. Now, sea turtles are a big part of our lives and have a huge meaning to my family. My mom and brother both have a Polynesian sea turtle tattoo, and my brother has a pineapple in the middle of his tattoo.

My biggest passions are photography and videography. I love to travel and go outdoors and take pictures of nature and people. I also love making YouTube videos with my family so I have videos I can watch when I am having a hard day and need a smile. I have a mini-Aussie named Bentley, who is the light of my life. His favorite things are pup cups and being right by my side. He enjoys going to grandma’s work and being her sidekick. I have enough bandanas for him to wear so that he could wear a new bandana each day and never wear the same one twice for a whole year.

I am incredibly thankful for hospice and my team who give me the best comfort care I could imagine. Beth and Kim go above and beyond with their kindness and care for both me and my family. Hospice has changed my life for the better, and because of them, I have a good quality of life for the remainder of my time left, and that’s all I ever wanted. I am thankful for everyone who works or volunteers at hospice and everyone that makes donations and supports hospice. I am here today still battling this disease and everything that comes along with it because of my 3 biggest supporters: my mom, my dad, and my brother. Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Please consider donating to Central Wyoming Hospice and Transitions. Your contribution can make a significant difference in improving the quality of life for individuals like Kaitlynn and their families. Your support can provide comfort and care to those facing terminal illnesses, offering them the best possible experience during a challenging time. To learn more about how your contribution can make a difference, click here.