Family Ties - Living With COPD

family

John and Fred Walsh discover a family gene behind their breathing problems.

John Walsh, co-founder of COPD Foundation, vividly recalls the day his twin brother called and said, “I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is, I’ve found out why we’ve been struggling to breathe these past few years. It’s Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a genetic disorder that causes COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] in people our age. Now that we can put a name to it, we’ll know how to treat it.

“The bad new is, this is what killed Mom.”

John held onto the phone, stunned. Then fear began to creep in. Their mother had died when she was just 46 years old and the brothers were 13. Now, at age 40, were they facing the same early death sentence?

John and Fred are fraternal twins, so their genes are not identical. However, their breathing symptoms and medical history were so similar they figured if one brother had this genetic disorder, chances were good the other had it too. It would explain why both had developed COPD-like symptoms at such an early age.

Walsh resolved to do everything in his power to prevent family history from repeating itself. In addition to searching therapies to keep himself and his brother breathing as well as possible, he dedicated his life to helping others, co-founding the Alpha-1 Foundation, AlphaNet and the COPD Foundation.

Read the rest of this article from the Allergy and Asthma Network, including the AAT Bonus Online: Interview with John Walsh, co-founder of the COPD Foundation - Click Here