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The Reality Of Living With Severe Asthma – As Told by 2 Women On Their Disease Journey
This post is in partnership with Amgen.
The seemingly simple task of taking a breath is something most of us don’t think twice about. But for people who live with severe asthma, breathing does not always come easily. Asthma, a chronic respiratory condition that inflames and narrows the airways in the lungs, affects millions of people worldwide – 5-10% of which live with severe asthma. Severe asthma is a chronic and lifelong condition that is unpredictable and can be difficult to manage. Though often invisible to the rest of the world, severe asthma is a not-so-silent companion for those who live with it, often interrupting schedules and impacting day-to-day life.
Among the many individuals who battle severe asthma, Black women face a unique set of challenges. It's not uncommon for us to go years without a proper diagnosis, and finding the right treatment often requires some trial and error. Thankfully, all hope is not lost for those who may be fighting to get their severe asthma under control. We spoke with Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq. and Jania Watson, two inspiring Black women who have been living with severe asthma and have found strength, resilience, and a sense of purpose in their journeys.
Juanita Brown Ingram, Esq.
Juanita Ingram has a resume that would make anyone’s jaw drop. On top of being recently crowned Mrs. Universe, she’s also an accomplished attorney, filmmaker, and philanthropist. From the outside, it seems there’s nothing this talented woman won’t try, and likely succeed at. In her everyday life, however, Juanita exercises a lot more caution. From a young age, Juanita has struggled with severe asthma. Her symptoms were always exacerbated by common illnesses like a cold or flu. “I've heard these stories of my breathing struggles, but I remember distinctly when I was younger not being able to breathe every time I got a virus,” says Ingram. “I remember missing a lot of school and crying a lot because asthma is painful. I [was taken] to see my doctor often if I got sick with anything so I was hypervigilant as a child, and I still am.”
Today, Juanita says her symptoms are best managed when she’s working closely with her care team, avoiding getting sick and staying ahead of any symptoms. Ingram said she’s been blessed with skilled doctors who are just as vigilant of her symptoms as she is. While competing in the Mrs. Universe competition, Juanita took extra care to stay clear of other competitors to ensure she didn’t catch a cold or virus that would trigger her severe asthma. “I would stand off to the side and sometimes that could be taken as ‘oh, she thinks she's better than everybody else.’ But if I get sick during a pageant, I'm done. I had to compete with that in mind because my sickness doesn't look like everybody else's sickness.”
Even when her symptoms are under control, living with severe asthma still presents challenges. Juanita relies on her strong support system to overcome the hurdles caused by a lack of understanding from the public, “I think that there's a lot of lack of awareness about how serious severe asthma is. I would [also] tell women to advocate and to trust their intuition and not to allow someone to dismiss what you're experiencing.”
Jania Watson
Jania, a content creator from Atlanta, Georgia, has been living with severe asthma for many years. Thanks to early testing by asthma specialists, Jania was diagnosed with severe asthma as a child after experiencing frequent flare-ups and challenges in her day-to-day life. “I specifically remember, I was starting school, and we were moving into a new house. One of the triggers for me and my younger sister at the time were certain types of carpets. We had just moved into this new house and within weeks of us being there, my parents literally had to pay for all new carpet in the house.”
As Jania grew older, she was suffering from fewer flare-ups and thought her asthma was well under control. However, a trip back to her doctor during high school revealed that her severe asthma was affecting her more than she realized. “That was the first time in a long time I had to do a breathing test,” she describes. “The doctor had me take a deep breath in and blow into a machine to test my breathing. They told me to blow as hard as I could. And I was doing it. I was giving everything I got. [My dad and the doctor] were looking at me like ‘girl, stop playing.’ And at that point [it confirmed] I still have severe asthma because I've given it all I got. It doesn't really go away, but I just learned how to help manage it better.”
Jania recognizes that people who aren’t living with asthma, may not understand the disease and mistake it for something less serious. Or there could be others who think their symptoms are minor, and not worth bringing up. So, for Jania, communicating with others about her diagnosis is key. “Having severe asthma [flare-ups] in some cases looks very similar to being out of shape,” she said. “But this is a chronic illness that I was born with. This is just something that I live with that I've been dealing with. And I think it's important for people to know because that determines the next steps. [They might ask] ‘Do you need a bottle of water, or do you need an inhaler? Do you need to take a break, or do we need to take you to the hospital?’ So, I think letting the people around you know what's going on, just in case anything were to happen plays a lot into it as well.”
Like Juanita, Jania’s journey has been marked by ups and downs, but she remains an unwavering advocate for asthma awareness and support within the Black community. She hopes that her story can be an inspiration to other women with asthma who may not yet have their symptoms under control. “There's still life to be lived outside of having severe asthma. It is always going to be there, but it's not meant to stop you from living your life. That’s why learning how to manage it and also having that support system around you, is so important.”
By sharing their journeys, Juanita and Jania hope to encourage others to embrace their conditions, obtain a proper management plan from a doctor or asthma specialist like a pulmonologist or allergist, and contribute to the improvement of asthma awareness and support, not only within the Black community, but for all individuals living with severe asthma.
Read more stories from others like Juanita and Jania on Amgen.com, or visit Uncontrolled Asthma In Black Women | BREAK THE CYCLE to find support and resources.
This Video Is A Reminder That Safe Spaces & Vulnerability Are Key To Our Collective Healing
Recently, Candice Brathwaite-Aboderin posted an IG reel sharing a vulnerable moment she experienced at the dentist's and how she deeply appreciated the care her doctor provided. As I watched Brathwaite-Aboderin’s tears roll down her face, it brought back an almost identical moment I had at the dentist roughly a year ago. The numbing gel they used didn’t work the way it should have, and the pain of the following injection was truly unbearable.
Though I’m not one who’s normally afraid of the dentist, that moment in my doctor’s chair triggered a flood of emotions from various instances throughout my life when I was in pain but wasn’t allowed to express those feelings. Just as Brathwaite-Aboderin’s dentist, mine wiped my tears and was very comforting at that moment, which further shocked my system because, as a Black woman, that’s not the response I’m used to receiving when I’m in pain.
When I later discussed this moment with my therapist, I explained to her that I didn’t even realize I needed to be comforted in such a way because I’d convinced myself that it wasn’t something I was ever going to receive.
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, licensed psychologist and founder of Therapy for Black Girls, says, “For so long society has told us that as Black women we have to hold it all together and rarely show emotion that I think it has left many of us out of touch with our feelings which is why we can be so taken aback when we experience genuine acts of kindness and care.”
Brathwaite-Aboderin shared a similar sentiment in her caption, “We are so accustomed to watching Black women in defense mode or having to challenge and fight for themselves that when we see raw emotion from them, it often highlights the lack of humanity we decide to give them.”
“We are so accustomed to watching Black women in defense mode or having to challenge and fight for themselves that when we see raw emotion from them, it often highlights the lack of humanity we decide to give them.”
I speak to the lack of humanity Black women are allotted by society through conversations centered around misogynoir and the variety of ways it manifests in our lives, whether that be through domestic violence, the way Black women are vilified for being their authentic selves, or how our vulnerability is an act of resistance against the systemic racism, and sexism Black women face daily.
Yet, a piece of this conversational puzzle that is often missing is how do we, as Black women, find and maintain spaces of safety in a world that often expects us to be superheroes?
Rhonda Richards-Smith, a Los Angeles-based psychotherapist and wellness expert, says “The more Black women engage in therapy and community healing spaces, the more comfortable we become with sharing our vulnerabilities, fears and needs with those we are closest to.” Richards-Smith continues, “As we embrace our humanity, we gain a greater understanding that we are more than deserving of having our wants, needs, and desires met.”
Black women are collectively beginning to metaphorically take off our capes and share the reality that we’re not always okay. In a recent clip shared from Selling Sunset, Amanza Smith and Chelsea Lazkani share a vulnerable moment on how Black women are taught to hide their pain and suffer in silence. Smith shared that “she didn’t want to have to do that anymore,” and how she wants to share the moments she’s struggled in the past with others so they can see they’re not alone and that there is space for their healing.
Bradford says, “It’s important for us to be vulnerable…it frees us and allows us to connect more deeply with our feelings, but it also creates a space for those around us to share more authentically.” Richards-Smith echos this sentiment, “Many Black women suffer in silence, which unfortunately furthers the Superwoman Syndrome phenomenon. By sharing our personal stories of healing and vulnerability with our communities in safe spaces, we give others courage to do the same.”
"By sharing our personal stories of healing and vulnerability with our communities in safe spaces, we give others courage to do the same."
As Black women continue to be honest about the impact daily microaggressions have on us, whether it’s Beyoncé sharing in her latest documentary Renaissance, “I feel like, being a Black woman, the way people communicate with me is different ... Everything is a fight. It’s almost like a battle against your will,” or Megan Thee Stallion producing songs like "Cobra" discussing her battles with mental health, Black women on a micro and macro level are beginning to create spaces for each other to fully exist in our humanity unapologetically.
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Featured image by Thought Catalog on Unsplash