Meet Risa Padilla, 18, from Oakland. Risa has asthma, severe allergies, and a rare condition called AMPS (amplified musculoskeletal pain syndrome). AMPS is an abnormal pain reflex. Even a mild pain signal can be extremely painful.
Young people are often thought of as the healthy ones, but healthcare matters to us too. Obviously!
About one in 12 Americans suffer from asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For black youth, that rate doubles to one in six. Diamond Eugene is more than just a statistic. This is her story.
When I was seven, I remember my cousin stopping in the middle of football games, pulling a red L-shaped thing out of his pocket, and taking a puff of it. For some reason, I never questioned it. It wasn’t until we were older and he went to the emergency room several times, that I realized how serious this “asthma” thing was.
“Ahek-ahe ahek-ahek” Just one sign that I know my lungs are shutting down. I was diagnosed with asthma as a baby. By the time I entered grade school, the emergency room became my second home. Since childhood, I’ve been to the emergency room over 50 times because of my uncontrollable asthma attacks.
