Speaker: Paulette
Tell us a little bit about yourself
Paulette: My name is Paulette. I'm 71 years young. I was a teacher. I'm retired now. I have three children and a husband and my interests are quilting, gardening and walking.
Tell us about your diagnosis
Paulette: When I was a kindergarten teacher, I was about 40 years old and I had a student named Megan and she kept noticing that I was coughing all the time. And she said to me, you know, you need to go see my daddy. He's a doctor. You really should go see him. He'll help you with your breathing.
How has your life changed since your diagnosis?
Paulette: Well, there has been some changes because now I'm aware of my triggers and gardening is one of my triggers and of course, doing the crazy leaves. I love to play in the leaves and my husband comes out and tells me, put your mask on. I must wear a mask now and it's quilting as well. When I'm quilting, I do wear a mask too because of the fibers and I found that it helps my triggers a lot. So I don't get the triggers.
How has Best Care impacted your life?
Paulette: It really has changed my life a lot for the better. My Educator has given me an action plan, which is, is very helpful. So I don't get panicked when I can't breathe. We also, I learned how to use the puffers correctly, which was really important. I needed to learn to breathe correctly with them.
Do you have a message for others about the Best Care program?
Paulette: Yes, I do. I really feel it's important that we keep the Best Care program going because the educators in this program give us what the doctors don't have time to give us. They, they take the time and get, walk you through it. So you get this action plan. That's yours. Very important. And I think the government needs to realize how important this is. It saves lives and it, it makes lives more quality.
