Being able to breathe freely is not at all self-evident for 1.2 million Dutch people. They have a lung disease such as COPD or asthma. Charis is one of them, she has severe asthma. “At a young age I heard that there was no good treatment for me at that time. Only prednisone or a stay in the Alps could provide some relief. That’s really not what you want to hear when you’re at the start of your life!”
Astmacentrum Davos
In 2011, Charis was urgently admitted to the Dutch Asthma Center Davos in Switzerland after a hospital stay. “I might not have been there anymore if I hadn’t ended up there. In Davos I was allowed to be human again, I could breathe and move without immediately being short of breath,” says Charis. She now regularly stays in the Alps and also uses special medication for her asthma. Yet she has to deal with her illness every day: “I have shortness of breath and have to consciously focus on breathing. That costs me a lot of energy. In addition, I constantly have to consider whether I can do things. If I choose to walk, I have to lie down again afterwards to recover.”
Stay positive
Nevertheless, Charis tries to remain positive: “The days I get through without a necessary nap are special and feel like a party to me. Unfortunately, this does not always work, just like staying positive. There are bad days that take a lot of energy and make me very sad. There is also a lot that I have not been able to do – yet – because of my illness. This is how I always wanted to get my driver’s license. I would also like to study psychology and put my own bread on the table. But that all simply takes too much energy. This makes me permanently incapacitated for work, as they call it. That’s hard to accept. So every now and then there’s that little voice in my head that tells me I’m not enough and I go to a psychologist. She then gives me a refresher in ‘dealing with your illness and energy’ and then I can move forward again.”
Love
It is not only the medication and the fresh air in the mountains that help her to deal with her illness: “Love makes me feel better!” says a radiant Charissa. Her boyfriend Koen is her support and source of support: “Since I met Koen, became a bonus mom and was allowed to take care of his children, I have had fewer negative moments.” In addition, Charis has good hope for the future: “My pulmonologist says that there are many new medications on the horizon that can help me. That gives me hope.”
Breakthroughs for lung diseases
Charis knows better than anyone how important it is that more research is done into lung diseases: “Long Fund finances scientific research into medical breakthroughs for lung diseases such as asthma. Just like the 1.2 million people with lung disease, I know that such a breakthrough is desperately needed. And Longfonds helps me to make lung diseases much more visible. For example, I regularly write on her Instagram about how I experience my illness.”
Pulmonary fund
Thanks to the participants of the Postcode Lottery, Longfonds has received more than 4.8 million euros in the past five years. Longfonds is committed to healthy lungs and healthy air. For a world where everyone can breathe freely.
Would you like to read more about Longfonds? Then click here.
2024-01-11 19:28:10
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