Charity's back...

The last time I blogged about Charity Tilleman-Dick was in October 2009, shortly before her double lung transplant.   Several years earlier, as a rising young opera singer living with PH, Charity gave a concert to introduce official Wahington to an understanding of PH.  Her pianist at the Kennedy Center that special night was then Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.  The concert generated world headlines.

Late last year, while speaking at the Cleveland Clinic's annual PH Symposium, Drs. Paul Hassoun, Omar Minai and I walked over to the hospital to visit with Charity, who was beginning her long road to recovery.   She was in bed but was anxious to speak and her brother voiced the words she was mouthing. We saw her take one of her first brief walks down the hall.

I didn't hear much about Charity for awhile - until late May of this year - when she burst into the press again.  Charity, and her spirit and extraordinary voice were back!  She was performing at the Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience Summit, and, in the second song of this clip, dedicates Gershwin's, Someone to Watch over Me to the doctors, nurses and hospital staff who had taken care of her.



Then in September, she gave an impromptu concert at the inaugural Colorado PH 5K Walk/Run and, this past Tuesday, opened the TEDMED health conference.

Yes, Charity's back...we're glad of it...and I'm sure we'll be hearing more from her!