Fayetteville,
Arkansas
As the first COPD patient advocate and State Captain for Arkansas, I hope to accomplish bringing more awareness to others about COPD. I want others to understand that it not only affects the lungs, but other parts of the body as well. I want others to understand just how important breathing is for those of us that have COPD. I want my elected officials to understand just how important funding is to support research to find a cure.
As a COPD advocate, I have spoken to my family and friends about COPD, have signed up for COPD360social, and have started a COPD fundraising campaign.
As a State Captain, I hope to write about COPD to share my story and help raise awareness, work with state, local, and national officials to improve COPD policy, and raise awareness by participating in health fairs and community events. I would also like to participate and promote research opportunities to help find a cure!
My proudest COPD moment is telling my teenage boys how it affects my body. My youngest son has braces and has chosen to wear the color orange to promote awareness to his classmates.
My inspiration to share is, "Celebrate live" (my husband gave me a bracelet for Christmas with that saying)
Facts about me: I was diagnosed with asthma at a very early age. I have been on a rescue inhaler for more than 25 years. I have also had issues with pleurisy for about 20 years. In 2008, I had my first collapsed lung. I just recently got diagnosed with COPD in June of 2017. Since then, I have looked up information that I didn't know about with COPD. I was diagnosed with emphysema in June of 2017 as well.