Appreciation From an Ocean Away

Fifteen years after learning he had pulmonary hypertension (PH), Said Boularouk wrote to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) from his home in France. Here is his story:

By Said Boularouk

I was a member of your association from 2005 until 2008. I had just been diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. At the time, I was living in Algeria, hopeless. I was dying in silence because the French consulate refused to grant me a visa to leave Algeria for France, where my cardiologist of many years practiced. PHA was a lifeline of information.

In 2006, I learned about your conference, the PHA International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions. I was thrilled when I was able to attend! I learned so much about PH and met many people who were able to help me on my journey.

In 2007, Italy granted me a single-day visa, which was enough time for me to travel to France and see the PH specialist I needed. This doctor, whom I have known since I was 9 years old, was furious about the bureaucratic delay because it meant more damage to my heart. You see, France had been refusing my visa requests since 1992 because of the civil war in Algeria. Even though I met all the criteria on paper, and even though my father worked in France and my grandfathered served for the French in World War II, I was still denied. Finally I was able to make it there.

After that, life changed rapidly for the better. I received a transplant in 2010. I became a French citizen in 2016. I earned my Ph.D. in information technology in 2018.

I have been an engineer since 1996 when I studied in Algeria, and I am an inventor. I created an invisible piano, a kind of sensor, that tests the ability of blind people to read spatial data using music. I even published a book about assistive technology in visual deficiencies in 2019. Because of you, I am alive; I progress; I am grateful.