Asthma ambassadors show way for sufferers to break free
Taiwanese actress Jacqueline Lee has suffered from asthma since she was five and recalls being a sickly child who was rarely allowed to go out, party or play sports.
Luckily, at the age of seven she met an understanding doctor whom she trusted, leading to the proper diagnosis of her condition and what caused her symptoms. "From the age of seven to sixteen, my mum would take me to an 'asthma camp' for a month during summer holidays. I was able to meet many kids who also suffered from asthma. Together we attended classes and studied about the treatment and medication for asthma. We played simple sports and swam. No one treated us like patients and we played joyfully," she said. Her experience at the camp taught Jacqueline how to take care of herself, control her asthma and lead a normal life. To keep her asthma under control she had regular check-ups - once a month in cooler weather and every two months in warmer weather - and exercised regularly, she said. "I'm very honoured and proud to be an Asthma Ambassador [for the Asian Asthma Patient Coalition], as I can promote the right concepts for asthma control and recommend exercises to help more asthma patients live freely like I do now," she said. Jacqueline is a yoga master, a television star who has also featured in martial-arts films, and a keen outdoor person who likes rock-climbing and other sports. "Once asthma is under control, it's not even there," she said. Lee Wang-pyo, an asthma ambassador from Korea, said he had had respiratory difficulties since 1990. He had tried to use breathing techniques to calm himself because he thought it was probably a symptom of ageing. He put up with the problem for 10 years before he was diagnosed with asthma in 2000. "Most people become desperate and depressed when they find out they have asthma, but I was relieved because I now knew what I had and that I could keep it under control," said Lee, who is president of Korean Pro-Wrestling Inc. With regular check-ups and a treatment programme, within a year of his diagnosis Lee was able to breathe normally, do the activities he wanted to, including rock-climbing, and felt as strong as anyone else. Lee said he was happy about the establishment of the AAPC because it would help improve asthma patients' lives. With everyone coming together to deal with asthma, the prevalence of the disease would be greatly reduced, he said.
Premyuda Boonroj The Nation
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