Beyond the Bike x Jen Cueva
October 19, 2022
Welcome to episode three of our mini-series, Beyond the Bike, where we highlight some of our amazing Aventon riders and share their unique stories! In January of 2021, we had the pleasure of getting to know Jen Cueva. Jen was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension in 2005, and because of this new challenging obstacle in her life, she had lost the ability to move around, and was unable to ride bikes with her husband who’s an avid cyclist. That was until she discovered an Aventon ebike. Jen had found her freedom of mobility again without the extra strain on her heart and breathing. But then in 2020, things took a turn for the worse and it was swiftly taken away again. This time because of COVID-19. Read more about Jen's empowering and uplifting story here, and watch how she came to conquer the odds and ride again once more below.
Jen Cueva is a symbol of hope and light. She represents the power of the human spirit and what it takes to keep moving forward, no matter what. As a person with PH, she embodies the concurrent struggles that come with it and so continues her efforts to provide knowledge and information and support for anyone else who deals with the physical and emotional limitations of PH, or for anyone else who wants to know more about it. Jen is column writer and forum moderator with Pulmonary Hypertension News Today, where she instills hope through understanding and is a pillar of strength in her efforts to spread the word.
For context, pulmonary hypertension is when pressure in the blood vessels leading from the heart to the lungs is too high. When pressure in the arteries gets too high, the arteries in the lungs narrow and the blood can’t flow as well as it should, resulting in less oxygen in the blood. This can cause chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath and swelling in the ankles, legs, and abdomen. In severe cases, people with pulmonary hypertension suffer the risk of right-sided heart failure.
To show our appreciation for Jen’s bravery in sharing her struggles with Pulmonary Hypertension and continuing to be relentless in her pursuits to spread awareness and create a resource of communal support, we surprised her with a brand new Next-Gen Pace 500 Step-Through. So, she can find more opportunities in the freedom of motion and continue to inspire those around her.
For more information on PH, visit Pulmonary Hypertension News and see the wonderful work Jen does for her community and the world. And as always, if you know of anyone who does incredible work and inspires those around them to lead an exemplary life through the power of mobility, leave a comment below for a chance to be featured in our ongoing Beyond The Bike series!
Great story about Jen dealing with her pulmonary Hypertension. The fact you gave her a new next generation bike is awesome and that she is riding it. Recently, well…due to covid, I gained alot of weight and also learned I had a partial right lower lobe collapse…not due to covid but docs don’t know. I deal with being heavy and short as well as allergies that take my breath away here in Alpine. I used to be an avid bicycle rider…riding 5 times from SF to LA. Since covid (& nearly getting hit by a speeding car) I gave up riding my regular bike. Now it’s a big struggle to ride them. Purchasing a 1 Gen 500 Pace was a God send! Jens story is inspiring me to ride more often to regain my strength as well as my cardio and confidence! Good for you all helping Jen and developing Aventon. I found Aventon by accident…while doing my delivery job BTW. A student was riding one and asked him about it. He loved his essentially and that’s when I did my research. Ultimately I settled on the 500. It was more than I wanted to spend on a bike…let alone an ebike, but well worth the gift to myself. Now I just have to ride it more than I do now. It’s been really, really hot here in Alpine CA lately and I an afraid of the craziness of distracted drivers. I’ll be picking different, less traffic times to ride here in Alpine!
Thank you for this story. It got me thinking of ditching my excuses not to ride and trade them in for a healthier lifestyle. Who knows…I may be back with a weight loss success story!
Karen Donahue, Alpine Ca.
Hi Jen, I am glad you have your freedom back is amazing. you show me how fight whit situations God Bless you …
Jen – You are truly an inspiration to me and if I ever have to battle anything close to what you have I would be lucky to do it with half as much strength. Keep riding and touching the lives of others — your actions matter more than you’ll ever know!!
Thank you Aventon for the write up of Jen and your generosity for surprising her with the 500. Jen is an inspiration to so many PH patients. She gives of herself every day with love, prayers and hope to so many people including myself. Reading your article I am sure will inspire more people to get out there and go for it!!