Susan

Birth Date
6/15/53

Gender
Female

Heritage
British Isles

Nationality
American

Alpha type
lung

Alpha gene
ZZ

Last FEV1
44%

Diagnosed
June 2005

Treatment
Advair, Spiriva
Zemaira

Siblings
2

Children
4+1 stepson

Susan

sjb@sjboyce.com

I live in New Jersey.

I am a Software Designer.

My favorite color is Yellow.

My favorite book/movie is Jaws.

My favorite music is Rock.

I have 1 dog, 2 cats, and fish.

I enjoy sailing, kayaking, loafing at the beach, and motorcycling.

12/9/2005 Like so many of us, I was diagnosed as having asthma more than 10 years ago, following a prolonged pneumonia. For the past decade, I continued to lose lung function, despite the increased doses of asthma medicine. My pulminologist finally decided to test for Alpha-1, and here I am.

I've just begun my augmentation therapy. It took me several months to even accept the fact that I have this disease. For months I couldn't sleep through the night without waking up in fear. I think I'm feeling better now as I have read about and met some of the success stories.

I'm still very active. I can't run anymore - and if I'm going to go walking someplace hilly I have to take my time, but so far alpha-1 hasn't limited my life yet. I want to keep it this way as long as possible.

All 4 of my children are MZ - thank God my ex-husband was MM. Even though its totally out of my control, I still feel guilty passing along a bum gene to them.

I'm glad I found this place and my local alpha-1 support group. It definitely helps. :)

Keep breathing.

Submit or Update your Alpha-1 Story on Spiderspun