I wrote a separate letter as a comment in support of Lydia R., so I now want to share a bit of my story as well. I grew up in Richmond, VA where city and factory pollution was rampant. Tobacco dust and other pollutants would be literally floating in the air at all times. I was hospitalized many times with severe asthma attacks.
My youngest daughter developed asthma and has spent her 31 years of her life on steroids and emergency inhalers. Her 4.0 GPA was affected because she could not participate in physical education activities. It was her choice after seeing friends die on the track.
In 1998, my father died from lung disease.
I have to use an inhaler daily and also when the air quality is bad. I now have 5 granddaughters and even though we have moved away from Richmond and live in the country where we thought the air quality was better, two of my granddaughters have also developed asthma. My 5-year-old granddaughter has to have a nebulizer and medication daily to survive.
There are also pollutants in the mountain air. Chemical dust from farming, pesticides and fertilizers has affected us now. Please help save the lives of our children and future generations. Dying from lack of fresh air is NO JOKE!
