An Alpha-1 Copd Love Story

Sally Everett was about to turn fifty. A single parent and a successful attorney, she was, seemingly, a picture of health. She ate right, she didn’t smoke, she was almost never sick, and she exercised regularly. A few weeks later she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) caused by Alpha-1, a genetic abnormality more common than cystic fibrosis but often undiagnosed. Her doctor gave her, at most, ten years.

After a week of self-pity and a year of self-indulgence, she decided to get on with the rest of her life. She joined the search for a cure for Alpha-1. She became a board member and sometime chair of the Alpha-1 Foundation. Eighteen years later, she’s not only still living but also happily married to a man she never would have met had it not been for her diagnoses. Their mutual motto is, “Life’s still worth living because it beats the alternative hands down.”

According to a recent Canadian study, one in four people over thirty-five will likely develop COPD. While smoking is the leading environmental risk factor for COPD, Alpha-1 is its principal genetic cause. Whether or not you have Alpha-1 or COPD, however, chances are you will relate to Sally Everett’s story. As her powerful memoir illustrates, stuff happens in life that we can’t predict—it’s what we do when it does that defines us.