This October PHA Staff Run for the Cause

Two PHA staff members – Olivia Onyeador and Jessica Armstrong – are running for the cause this October as members of PHA's Team O2 breathe. Olivia, PHA’s PHCC Program Manager, will participate in the Bank of  America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 11, and Jessica Armstrong, PHA’s Early Diagnosis Campaign Manager, will run in the 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in Philadelphia, Pa., this Halloween.

Olivia Onyeador, PHCC Program Manager

Olivia has always been a fighter. After sustaining multiple sports-related knee injuries, she has worked hard to get back to a healthy state: “In 2008, after my second (of three) knee surgeries, the doctors told me I might not be able to walk or have feeling in my right leg again because the nerve damage was so extensive.” After months of rehabilitation, she regained control of her leg and was eventually able to complete a half marathon a few years later.

When Olivia learned about Team O2 breathe’s participation in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, she believed that this event would be “the perfect chance to help the PH community through direct fundraising as well as my own physical efforts in a larger scale endurance event.” Team O2 breathe allows members of the PH community to participate in endurance events, such as a 5K, swim, triathlon, or one of the “charity partner events,” to raise funds and awareness for PH. 

In preparation for the October race, Olivia often thinks of the strength of those she is helping at PHA. “Their drive embodies something a past sports coach (Brian Pensky, head coach of University of Tennessee Women’s Soccer) said to my team: ‘You are a part of something bigger than yourself.’ That mirrors my exact sentiments about PHA and the community we serve,” Olivia says. “The people surrounding me encourage me to push the limits because they never stop striving to surpass their own. I am doing this because PH patients have taught me what it means to be resilient.”

Visit Olivia’s fundraising page.

Jessica Armstrong, Early Diagnosis Campaign Manager

Jessica Armstrong is often the person at PHA who a patient or caregiver will speak with when they are first diagnosed. Her calm and bright personality helps those who are seeking answers throughout this difficult moment in their lives. They rely on her as being both knowledgeable and understanding, mostly because she was sitting in their position almost four years ago.

Jessica was diagnosed with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) in 2011, on Halloween. As the four-year anniversary of her diagnosis approaches, she is planning to run in the 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon this Halloween. She will be running and fundraising for PHA and will be educating others about CTEPH Awareness Day, which will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015.

“Every day I work to reduce the knowledge gaps and the barriers contributing to the high rate of missed and delayed diagnoses,” Jessica says. To learn more about CTEPH Awareness Day, visit www.PHAssociation.org/AwarenessMonth/CTEPHDay.

Visit Jessica’s fundraising page.

To learn more about PHA’s Team O2 breathe or to become part of the team, visit www.PHAssociation.org/TeamO2breathe. To find out more about fundraising for the PH cause, contact SpecialEvents@PHAssociation.org.