Chloe Temtchine is an up-and-coming singer/songwriter with an important message to share.
The New York City native started singing when she was just six years old, and by the time she hit adulthood she was already well on her way towards becoming a pop superstar. Chloe’s combination of beauty, brains, and talent earned her TV appearances and songwriting awards, but then in 2013, her hopes and dreams seemed to be dashed by a frightening diagnosis that would change her life forever.
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Chloe had been seeking help for her shortness of breath and coughing fits for many years, yet doctors were stumped about the cause. After being misdiagnosed again and again, Chloe was rushed to the emergency room, struggling to stay alive. It was then that she learned she was in congestive heart failure.
She was diagnosed with a rare heart disorder called pulmonary venoocclusive disease (PVOD), a form of pulmonary hypertension. Without treatment, she would have just months to live. With treatment, she’d be required to wear supplemental oxygen every day for the rest of her life.
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Chloe, who like many women her age, considered herself “very vain,” admits she had difficulty coming to terms with her dire diagnosis.
“When I was told I would have to wear oxygen for the rest of my life, I literally thought there was no way I could do this. No way. I was thinking, ‘How am I going to perform? What’s everybody going to think?'” she explained. “I struggled with it at first, quite a bit. I’m now totally comfortable with wearing oxygen.”
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As soon as she recovered enough to leave the hospital, Chloe recommitted herself to expressing herself through music. Using her new personal health history for inspiration, Chloe sat down and poured out her feelings on paper.
“I locked myself in a room and wrote songs – it was an escape from thinking about my condition,” she said. “There’s a new level of sincerity and truth that didn’t come from me before. There was a part of me that wanted to rush to write songs because I didn’t know how much time I had left.”
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One of the songs Chloe wrote during this difficult period is called “Be Brave,” which has since become the anthem for the pulmonary hypertension community. She donates half of her earnings from the song to support the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) and its mission of finding a cure, and she’s also devoted to helping others overcome their embarrassment about wearing supplemental oxygen in public.
Chloe now uses her substantial talents not just to further her musical career, but to help others come to terms with having special needs or looking just a little bit different than the crowd.
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For other patients who are struggling with wearing the facial apparatus, she explains that wearing oxygen is just another one of life’s challenges for them to face… and overcome.
“I always remind myself that everyone, no matter what our age, no matter who we are, everybody struggles with something,” she says simply. She also advises oxygen-wearers to exercise what she calls, “the delete factor.”
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“If somebody comes into your life and doesn’t want to be friends with you because you’re wearing oxygen, then you don’t want to be friends with them, either,” she says flatly.
Chloe tends to use humor to ease the awkwardness of transporting an oxygen tank with you wherever you go, advising fans to name their tanks and “make it your friend.”
“I know it sounds crazy, but I named my tank Steve Martin, and it totally changed everything,” she says with a giggle.
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Chloe’s latest single is another testament to overcoming life’s hurdles and being as strong as you can at all times. The song is called “Rise,” and it’s so good you would expect to hear it on the radio any day now.
In the music video for “Rise,” not only does Chloe model her breathing cannula with pride, but she even incorporates “Steve Martin” into the music.
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Using the tank as a percussion instrument, Chloe’s breathing becomes part of the song. The lyrics are inspirational too, and not just for those who suffer a serious illness like Chloe’s.
Running out of breath is when I learned to breathe
20 seconds on the clock of time is all I need
Break apart breathing, we’re all the same in the end
It’s not how far we fall, it’s how high we rise.
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Chloe is not about to let a little thing like a life-threatening diagnosis keep her from her dreams of being a powerful singer/songwriter who’s on a mission to shed light on her disease. We could all learn from the way she’s not just overcome her fear of looking different, but has embraced it.
Watch Chloe’s newest song “Rise” below, and be sure to share to spread her important message of self-acceptance and empowerment.
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