Janice Turner: moving forward, one step at a time 

Janice Turner doesn’t take a single trip to the dog park or the grocery store for granted. There was a long period when just walking from her car into the house took all her strength.

She was working as a nurse practitioner in Kansas in 2012 when she started to experience shortness of breath and fatigue during normal activities.

She saw doctors and went for tests and scans, but she continued to experience symptoms without explanation for about two years. It took persistence, referrals, and a specialist to finally diagnose Janice with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a progressive disease without a cure.

Though she was accustomed to working with about 25 patients a day, Janice said becoming one herself was difficult. She felt like “all of her medical background went out the window” in the initial shock.

“Getting the diagnosis was devastating, simply because I knew it was going to be a lifelong process,” she said, adding that in 2014 there weren’t many options for treatment.

Fortunately for Janice, her specialist found a treatment that helped her get back to her normal daily life, like walking around the supermarket without stopping for breaks.

“Once I was on the right medication, I could take my grocery cart and not zoom down the aisles, but I didn’t feel like I was holding up anybody behind me,” she said with a smile. “Even though my pulmonary artery is damaged, I can still carry on activities in moderation that I would normally do.”

It is a blessing that I received the grant. Otherwise, I’m not sure I would have been able to afford the medication costs. My out-of-pocket [responsibility] was just cost prohibitive."

At first, Janice wanted to continue working, because even though she needed oxygen and moved a bit slower, her condition didn’t impact her mind or her ability to do her job well. She wanted to show that example to her patients.

Ultimately, she decided to retire, which led to another challenge—affording her medications. She explained to her specialist that she could no longer afford her medications without her employer-sponsored health insurance and asked if there were any grants or foundations out there.

“He gave me a whole list,” she said.

The PAN Foundation was on that list, and Janice has been a grant recipient ever since.

“It is a blessing that I received the grant. Otherwise, I’m not sure I would have been able to afford the medication costs,” she said. “My out-of-pocket [responsibility] was just cost prohibitive.”

Having the correct medication and financial support has not only helped Janice’s ability to get around, but also her quality of life.

“You don’t realize how much your support has helped me…Now that I don’t have the financial worry about my medication, I am one happy person,” she said.

Janice also found some financial relief through the Medicare reforms enacted through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. She has diabetes and when the law changed to limit insulin costs to $35 per month, it was a huge help to her. (Learn more about these changes with PAN’s Medicare reforms guide).

Today, Janice lives in Maryland, with her daughter and her teacup yorkie, Cleo. As often as she can, she also spends time with her grandchildren, Ivan and Whitley.

“I can’t jog a mile or run a mile, but I can take my time and go three flights of steps. I can take my time and see my grandkids perform in football or dance or cheer,” she said. “It is not an illness that stops you unless you allow it to.”

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