WEGO Health - Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge (#HAWMC) Day 1

WEGO Health is promoting the Health Activist Writers Month Challenge.  They've prepared 30 health-related prompts to help us  get creative with our posts.  I am always on the lookout for something to write about, and I love to accept challenges, so I'm joining in.

What is WEGO Health?  In their own words:

We are WEGO Health — a network of over 100,000 of the most influential members of the online health community. We are bloggers, tweeters, pinners, and leaders of Facebook pages — we are the empowered patients that drive the healthcare conversation online, across virtually every health topic and condition.

Well let's get started -

1 - What drives me to write about my health?

I started this blog to share what I have learned about Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) and lung transplant. There is not a lot of good information available, written from the patients perspective, available to folks newly diagnosed with IPF or making the decision about moving forward with being evaluated for a lung transplant. Hopefully I'm helping fill that gap.

Writing this blog has given me the opportunity to advocate for much needed improvements in the delivery of supplemental oxygen for people living with IPF, and for better devices to help monitor blood oxygen saturation.

2 - What do I want other Health Activists to know about my condition and my activism?

Life with new lungs is wonderful. The ability to take a full, deep breath, and not having to struggle for each and every breath, is miracle.  Like many other Health Activists I have met, my issue (I hate calling it an illness) is an invisible one. Staying healthy, and counteracting the negative effects of the immunosuppressive medications is a full time job. I also have limitations that are not obvious to the casual observer.

My activism on the blog is primarily focused on providing support and information for  the Pulmonary Fibrosis and Lung Transplant communities. I also enjoy being active in the growing social media ePatient  activist community, supporting each other in our efforts to spread awareness, empower patients, and improve health care delivery.