I’m Aware That I’m Rare: Erica Huntzinger (347)

The phaware® interview

Erica Huntzinger, MPH is an Associate Producer of the phaware® podcast series.

In this episode, she discusses what it’s like to be the daughter and family caregiver of a #pulmonaryhypertension patient, how she became involved in raising PH awareness, and her hopes for the future of this #raredisease community.

https://oembed.libsyn.com/embed?item_id=16294688

Hi, my name is Erica Huntzinger and I wanted to share some of my caregiving experience as a daughter of a PH patient.

When I was growing up, I knew my grandparents helped my great grandparents when they got sick. Then, I saw my mom took care of my grandmother. I thought all families did this when the older generation needed help. So, I thought that when the time came, I would do the same thing. There was never really a question about caregiving.

I saw what my grandmother’s illness did to my mom in terms of stress and the changes to our lives. So, I decided to be a helpful kid at about nine years old or so, because I did not like seeing my mom having to handle so much by herself. When I was in middle school, my mom started to have health problems. At the time, they seemed very random and disconnected.