For a time in Jackie Joyner-Kersee's life, she was overcome with
self-doubt and fear. She was 18 years old, a multi-sport star at
UCLA--far from her beloved East St. Louis, Illinois, roots--who had come
face to face with an opponent she wasn't convinced she could beat:
asthma."I had lived in denial for a very long time," Joyner-Kersee
recalls. "I didn't want to accept it because I knew I wanted to have a
great quality of life. But once I realized asthma was a disease I
really couldn't play around with, I decided to educate myself."
Joyner-Kersee has managed to live quite the life with asthma.
Considered one of the greatest athletes of all time, she was the first
woman to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the heptathlon, the
grueling seven-discipline event.
"I always took preventive measures to prevent an attack," says
Joyner-Kersee. "Sometimes there were circumstances I had no control
over, like changes in climate or altitude, but this is where the
controlling part of it comes into play."
Now retired from competition, Joyner-Kersee, 46, is on a crusade
to educate people about the disease, particularly the importance of
getting a flu shot. This year, more than more than 36,000 people will
die from influenza, according to the Centers for Disease Co
ntrol and Prevention.
To help bolster her role as an advocate for asthmatics and
athletes nationwide, Joyner-Kersee has joined forces with the Medco
Tour of Champions, which is designed to educate and empower Americans
to become champions of their health by managing chronic conditions. The
campaign team consists of six gold medalist athletes, including Bob
Beamon (diabetes), Peggy Fleming (breast cancer ) and Greg Louganis
(HIV).
"Some people confuse being out of shape with an asthmatic
condition," Joyner-Kersee says. "They have to learn the difference
between the body not being able to put the mileage in you want and a
full-blown asthma attack." Which is why the flu shot is so important.
The American Lung Association says only 8 percent of people with
asthma get a flu shot. (If every asthmatic got the shot, 100,000
hospital visits could be prevented a year.)
Joyner-Kersee relies on different medications to control her
asthma and consults with a specialist. And she stays busy as a
motivational speaker and with her Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation (jackiejoyner-kerseefoundation.org ).
A motivational book and an apparel line for girls are in the works.
"Who says you can't be an athlete and have an active lifestyle with
asthma? I have taken athletics to the highest level. I know it can be
done."
--Mark W. Wright
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