My name is Kayla Demchuk. As most of you know, my mom, Jody Demchuk has been battling with PH pulmonary hypertension disease. It's a very rare disease, and there is no cure.

She has been battling Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension since November 2020. My mom started complaining about her heart racing, and not being able to catch her breath. Just walking up from the beach became a struggle for her.

Then one night she passed out and my brothers found her. It was very scary. She went to her doctor the following day and they did an EKG and told her she was just anxious and had anxiety. They put her on medication and sent her home. A few weeks later she passed out again. This time her doctor sent her to a cardiologist. They put her on a heart monitor and sent her home. At this point, her heart was constantly racing and gasping for air. A few weeks later she passed out again and went to the ER. This time, thankfully the doctor on duty did a wide range of tests and found fluid around the right side of her heart. She was told to make an appointment to get an ECHO.

We were all so worried and confused, not knowing what fluid around the heart even meant.

My mom went in and got her ECHO and they admitted her immediately. My mom's right side of her heart was so enlarged she was in full-blown heart failure. My mom spent four days in Wilcox hospital. They put her on Lasix, a medication to help manage the fluid around her heart . During this time she was also medivaced to Queens and spent 2 weeks there trying to find more answers. She also received a PIC line to administer round-the-clock medication (Remogulin) to basically keep her alive. The time since then has been a series of ups and downs with more bad news than good. The most recent checkup at Stanford Medical revealed that her disease has progressed more rapidly than her team of doctors had anticipated. Advising her to relocate and immediately be placed on a double lung transplant list.

My mom and dad are having to relocate to California as of March 1st. At that time she will be put on the list. Unfortunately, my mom has sensitized blood so a match is going to be more difficult. She has a long road ahead of her.

Despite her smile and happy nature, she is in pain and every day is a struggle for her. All contributions will help alleviate the financial pressures they are facing ahead.