Certainly. Here's a cleaned-up and grammatically refined version of your transcript while preserving the original meaning and tone:
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I was a civil engineer. When I retired, the president of the company asked what I was going to do next. I told him, “I'm going to golf. I'm going to spend time with my grandson. I'm going to go fly fishing with my wife. And then, I'm going to golf some more.”
I played football in high school and later got into running marathons, so I was always active. About eight years ago, my daughters invited me to hike Pikes Peak with them. I was really struggling, and that’s when I started to wonder if something was wrong.
He wasn’t getting any answers, and the doctors weren’t digging any deeper to find the cause of his symptoms. His primary care provider referred him to National Jewish Health. National Jewish is the leading pulmonary hospital—we knew he was going to get the best care.
When I first met Daryl, he was very fit, so it was striking to hear that he could no longer run. He came to us with a history of atrial fibrillation. As his symptoms progressed, abnormalities began to show up on his echocardiogram, suggesting pulmonary hypertension. We needed to determine whether this was due to pulmonary hypertension or related to his atrial fibrillation.
It was clear that we needed to take action.
My family means the world to me. I just can’t imagine life without them.
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I love gardening. You plant the flowers, and if you water them properly, they give that joy back to you. I love that.
Barbara is very much a nurturer. She values her children and family above all else. My mom has an aura about her—a glow. So when I noticed that light starting to fade, I knew something was wrong.
She had difficulty breathing. She was severely fatigued and would sometimes nap for hours during the day just to gain her strength back. Seeing my wife like that, not being able to help, not knowing how to get her better—that was very hard. She would say, “I'm not fun anymore. I'm a different person. I can’t do what I used to do. How will this affect my family? My grandchildren? I’ve always been such a strong part of their lives.”
After seeing so many physicians up and down the East Coast, my son, who is a physician in Denver, said, “Dad, you’re being foolish looking anywhere else. Why don’t you come out here and see one of the excellent pulmonary physicians at National Jewish Health?”
When a child with asthma has an asthma attack, it feels like their chest is being squeezed tight, and they’re gasping for air. When Adam was about 11 months old, he had a severe episode of pneumonia. He was then diagnosed with asthma. We had many ER visits, and then came the hospitalizations.
Adam’s pulmonologist at the time suggested National Jewish to see if we were missing something. Dr. Zeitlin could tell a story from just one test. A bronchoscopy offers a direct look inside the airways and lungs.
We have a clinical study that allows us to sample cells from the airway walls. Those specimens are sent to Dr. Cold’s lab to analyze gene expression. We've been studying those cells to understand what’s going wrong in the airway tissue of someone with asthma. We found that people with a certain type of inflammation produce mucus with a specific protein. That mucus sticks to the airway, forming a plug that blocks airflow.
Identifying that protein gave us a target. We can now design drugs to break up airway mucus in those patients with that type of inflammation. This discovery process is how we make an impact on patients’ lives. National Jewish is uniquely suited for this type of research.
One special aspect of National Jewish Health is how closely we work together to identify what’s really causing a patient’s symptoms. That’s how we begin treatment.
I first met Daryl when he was referred for an exercise heart catheterization. During the test, while he was on the exercise bike, his pulmonary pressures increased far beyond what would be normally expected. This revealed that he had severe pulmonary hypertension when exercising.
We treated him to help dilate the blood vessels and reduce pressure in the lungs. However, his atrial fibrillation progressed, and the episodes became more severe. That’s when I referred him to Dr. Sun. We decided to try an ablation—a procedure that burns specific areas of the heart to reroute electrical signals and control arrhythmias. He hasn't had any episodes of AFib since.
Working with the doctors helped him realize there were steps he could take to improve his quality of life. That’s made a huge difference—allowing him to get back to doing what he loves most.
It’s about staying on the right side of the grass. I feel that Dr. H, Dr. Sun, and Dr. Kim are all helping me live life to the fullest. I still feel I have so much to live for. I’ve been a blessed man.
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When Barb arrived at National Jewish Health, we did a comprehensive evaluation. Her chest CT scans looked very normal, which led us to consider autoimmune diseases that can affect lung function without visibly damaging the lungs.
The immune system is supposed to protect us. But in autoimmune disease, that system turns on the body instead. We began to focus on a rare disorder called Shrinking Lung Syndrome.
I had healthy lungs, but my diaphragm had essentially become paralyzed—it just wasn’t working. And if your diaphragm isn’t working, your lungs aren’t working.
In cases of Shrinking Lung Syndrome, there’s a medication called rituximab. Over the course of treatment, her lung function rebounded to nearly normal.
I was so thankful. She can do more with her life. She can play with the grandchildren more effortlessly. All of those things make her heart sing. You see the joy. You see the humor. I have more of my mom back.
I can go outside, look at the garden, and just cry out of joy. If the garden is doing well, that means I’m going to do well. It represents life.
There’s something that truly sets National Jewish Health apart—and that’s the holistic nature of their approach. As a parent, you couldn’t ask for anything more for your child.
We try to make a personal connection—moving beyond that feeling of being just another part of a medical system. It’s incredibly important that everything Daryl needed was available under the National Jewish Health umbrella.
This is a fantastic place. The clinicians are top-notch. The research is cutting-edge. And we take a collaborative approach to personalized medicine.
National Jewish Health changed my life—by identifying what was going on so I could continue enjoying life with my family.
Nothing else matters if you can’t breathe.
If we can relieve symptoms—or even provide a cure—it’s life-changing. They recognized there was a problem, and they’re doing everything they can to help me.
When you’re ill, that means the world.
National Jewish Health truly saved my life.
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National Jewish Health — Changing lives for more than 125 years.
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