Public Employee Press

Members support Asthma walk 2010

A small, dedicated contingent of 18 DC 37 members represented the union May 22 at Asthma Walk 2010. The group met up in Battery Park and set out on the three-mile walk to raise funds and awareness about the disease.

Local 768 member Anna Marie Berry led the group as they raised money through their families, friends, and co-workers. For her, participation in the walk is a priority.

"I do this every year, because my mother, my son, my grandchildren and I all suffer with this lung disease," Barry said. "At three, my son had two severe attacks that almost took his life. Today he is 19 and I am very thankful."

As someone who copes with the disease herself, Berry is knowledgeable about the nature of asthma. "You can have an attack when you least expect it," she said. "It's important to know your triggers, educate yourself and others, take your medications and carry your inhaler."

The annual walk is sponsored by the American Lung Association. Nationwide, 20 million Americans suffer from asthma. In New York, asthma is more prevalent than nationwide and it is increasing, rising from 6.3 percent in 1999 to 8.7 percent in 2008.