Benefit Saturday for Fort Mill Vision’s Michelle Taylor

Indian Land resident Michelle Taylor was told she had 2 years to live.

That was 10 years ago.

“I’m still here kicking,” Taylor said. “I’m a fighter. I don’t believe in giving up.”

Taylor, 39, has pulmonary hypertension, a disease characterized by an increase of blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein or pulmonary capillaries that can cause shortness of breath and other symptoms.

Taylor survives with a permanent IV in her chest that pumps medicine to keep her blood pressure in check. She also relies on oxygen, which she wears most of the time. Even with that assistance, Taylor said it’s challenging to get enough oxygen.

Those with PH often face breathlessness, chest pain, dizziness, fainting, loss of energy and swelling in their arms, legs and abdomen, according to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association.

Life-saving medications cost Taylor thousands of dollars a month.

“It’s a very costly disease,” she said.

Taylor gets help through her insurance and the Caring Voice Coalition, an organization that raises money to help those with life-threatening chronic diseases. She has been on disability for three years.

“The hardest part of having any type of issue like this is asking for help, but I’m not giving up until my last breath,” Taylor said.

She recently faced yet another challenge. In advanced cases, PH can cause an irregular heartbeat.

Taylor’s heart went into atrial fibrillation, a condition of an abnormal rhythm with rapid and irregular beating. She said her heart was constantly beating too fast. Recently, it was up to 135 beats per minute. The normal rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats a minute.

“It makes it hard to do anything,” Taylor said.

Small tasks, like walking a few feet, are nearly impossible for Taylor. Keeping food down is just as hard.

“It wears me out,” she said.

Taylor recently received treatment to get her heart back in rhythm.

While pulmonary tension is not a visible disease, Taylor said every day is a struggle. She compared the disease to constantly breathing through nothing but a straw.

“I look like there is not a thing in the world wrong with me,” she said.

With her condition worsening, Taylor is facing a double lung and heart transplant. Because lung and heart transplants are not performed in Charlotte, she has to travel to Durham, N.C., with her mother.

Doctors in Atlanta have already turned Taylor down for the operation due to risks.

“It was one giant letdown,” she said.

She is waiting to hear from a hospital in Durham. If they turn her down, Taylor said she will try somewhere else as her doctor is dead set on her having the procedure.

Taylor meets with other PH patients in a quarterly support group at Presbyterian Hospital in Matthews.

“I used to think I didn’t need support groups, and then one day I realized that someone may need me,” she said. “It’s like a family with people that understand how you feel.”

Denise Anderson, an optician at Fort Mill Vision Center, said Taylor, who has worked at Fort Mill Vision for nearly 17 years, now needs the community’s support.

“Anyone that knows Michelle, or comes in contact with her, will agree that she is one of the most amazing people you will ever meet,” she wrote on Taylor’s GoFundMe page. “Her radiant smile lights up the room and her laugh and silly jokes will make your day instantly change from bad to good.”

As of Feb. 28, the GoFundMe page has raised $855 toward a goal of $5,000. Taylor said she has been shocked by the support from the community.

“My family and friends have been wonderful to me,” she said. “I couldn’t have gotten this far without them. No one knows when you are going to die, so you just have to keep pushing, and that’s what I do.”