Allergy & Asthma Day on Capitol Hill!

See this group of amazing people? I was lucky to be part of this group of professionals who are passionate about educating others with allergies and asthma. 

They are my people! 

We can talk about allergies and asthma - all day long! (My family usually tunes me out after awhile. There she goes again - helping someone else!)

Each of these people have their own story of how their life is impacted by allergies and asthma. If you have been reading my blog for very long, you probably know our story.

Our journey began 19 years ago with the first of many hospitalizations for Son #2 and daughter Kitty. Asthma education wasn't as easy to find back then, and Asthma Doc struggled to find the right treatment for my kids. If my kids caught a cold, it always turned into pneumonia and that meant another hospitalization in the pediatric ward. We also learned that smoke from forest fires are NOT good for those with asthma. Pneumonia and smoke from forest fires caused 12 hospitalizations for Son #2 and Kitty. We finally were able to control Son #2's asthma with 7 years of monthly biologic injections to control his severe asthma.

 Son #1 and I were also diagnosed with asthma. So, we have are a family of 5 - all 5 have allergies, and 4 have asthma (you could say we don't have the best genetics.....) 

Our lives have revolved around doctor visits, twice weekly allergy shots, monthly biologic injections, and epinephrine auto injectors for food allergies. Urgent Care clinics, Emergency Department visits and hospital stays were also common.

We have also made environmental changes to our home to make it allergy and asthma.

We buy allergy pills, nose sprays and tissues in bulk at the warehouse store, and also are frequent visitors to the pharmacy. 

I also switched careers (and went back to college for another degree!) so I could work in a profession as a Certified Asthma Educator. 

This is our life. 

But we are the lucky ones. We are able to make changes to our home to make it allergy and asthma friendly. We have insurance and can afford to see a specialist and buy our medications (but we still use manufacturer coupons!)   

We joined others in lifting our voices to educate our legislators  during Allergy & Asthma Day on Capitol Hill (sponsored by Allergy & Asthma Network.)  

The meetings went well, and our legislators were truly interested in learning about the problems  allergies and asthma cause, and how they can help.

Want to be involved?

It's not too late! Allergy & Asthma Network has a web page with everything you need. You can see the advocacy issues, download graphics, etc. Or - go straight to their Virtual Advocacy page. 

  Your voice can make a difference! Get involved!