For Andrew, breathing is a daily, ongoing struggle.
Andrew was first diagnosed with moderate asthma when he was 10 years old. His first trip to the emergency room due to an asthma attack would be the first of many all-too-familiar trips.
Through high school, asthma didn’t just affect him physically, but emotionally and academically, too. In addition to working hard to keep up with classwork from missed days, he also had to face relentless bullying – so severe that he had to change schools to continue his education.
After a childhood of managing asthma, a severe attack in his 20s left him fighting for his life.
“I remember the police showing up and finding me on the steps on the front landing,” Andrew recalls. “They didn’t even wait for an ambulance as none were going to make it in time. So they rushed me in the back of a cruiser to the hospital.”
Andrew almost died. He was intubated for the first time, placed on life support and spent two weeks in the hospital. Since then, he’s lost count of the number of times he’s been in the hospital. But he does remember he has been on life support four more times. Because of the severity of his asthma, Andrew can no longer work or live on his own.
For most people, asthma is a chronic illness that can be managed with proper treatment and care. However, many people with severe, uncontrollable asthma, like Andrew, are still waiting until more research is done to find effective treatments that will finally work for them.
Because of you, AAFA’s education and support programs give Andrew and others a lifeline when the simplest act of breathing can be frightening and difficult. Your gift improves the lives of adults and children living with asthma.
“Through every low moment, I know I can always turn to someone in the AAFA support group and confide in them how I’m feeling and what’s bothering me and I can get encouragement,” says Andrew. “And I can also encourage others during their low moments.”
Education, advocacy and research – the heart of AAFA’s work – leads patients to a better understanding of how to manage their asthma and seek the best asthma treatment and care. And for Andrew and others struggling with uncontrolled asthma, your gift provides a lifeline of support until new treatments are available that can effectively treat severe, uncontrolled asthma.
Your gift can save lives.
Please give generously so we can continue to work to reduce asthma deaths and educate, advocate and support research that will allow adults, like Andrew, and children with asthma, to have better health and quality of life.
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