In My Opinion—Interview with the Expert

Abstract

Nancy Sander is president and founder of the Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA), a nonprofit membership organization providing educational materials and guidance to people with asthma and allergies. Like millions of other parents whose children were born with severe asthma and allergies, Nancy spent many lonely, frustrating, and frightening years in and out of hospital emergency rooms fighting to help her daughter, Brooke. Determined to ease her daughter's plight, she sought to learn all she could about asthma and allergies. Nancy entered her daughter into a drug research program at Georgetown University with profound results. The components of care, communication, and stateof-the-art therapies and medications provided at Georgetown revolutionized Brooke's life and changed the family dynamics so dramatically that Nancy started sharing the good news with others in the Washington, DC, metro area via a newsletter. Through caring for Brooke, Nancy became an expert on the practical aspects of parenting a child with asthma and allergies. In 1985, she founded AANMA as a network to give other parents the coping strategies, medical information, and emotional support she found so useful in managing Brooke's condition. AANMA provides patient education services including Allergy & Asthma Today magazine, The MA Report newsletter, discounted educational books and videos, a Web site (www.breatherville.org), and a toll-free help line (800-878-4403). A former freelance writer, Nancy serves as editor-in-chief of AANMA's publications. In addition, she has written numerous books and articles, including A Parent's Guide to Asthma, Consumer Update on Asthma, Breathing Easy with Day Care, and Belief Systems That Affect the Management of Childhood Asthma. She has co-authored the Peak Flow Meter Book: A Guide for People with Asthma and The Asthma Organizer. Nancy has also written and produced many children's books and videos, such as So You Have Asthma, Too, I'm A Meter Reader, Go Blow Your Nose, Robert, Wheeze World, and Baby Breaths.