HappyAir Ambassador

With Alpha-1.

As a HappyAir Ambassador  with Alpha-1, my aim is to show other young people with lung and rare diseases that it isn’t all bad .There are different levels you can confront as a person and you can challenge yourself, drive towards your passion or ambition and make things happen which are positive for yourself and your future.

You may have signs or symptoms that you are not sure about, so you need to check your health with your doctor and see if you do have a problem because you can often help yourself, before things get worse.

I started surfing at 6 in Spain, then after a lot of determination & training in Portugal finally made the wild card selection for the World Junior surf championships held in Australia in 2016. Now I am working on the QS series after finishing school this year.So, I haven’t let my problems stop me pursuing my dream and my passion.

About Alpha-1

So what are the main signs you need to look out for in Alpha-1?

  1. Finding it difficult to get your breath sometimes
  2. Feeling more tired than usual when you have been doing any physical activity
  3. You remember that someone in your family had something wrong with their liver or lungs
  4. You are kind of wheezy in your chest or have a cough that doesn’t go away
  5. As a baby you are yellowish or may have liver mal-function

So ,why don’t you get your lungs checked or your liver, if you notice something wrong there.?

Go and see your doctor and talk about how you feel. Contact some of the organizations working in your country who can give you some help.

Youtube Playlist

Get tested

There are many specialists around the world in Alpha-1 who network and can give you advice.

Each country has a different way of doing things but essentially this is what you should do but is really simple:

  • Step 1: Check your level of AAT (Alpha-1-Antitrypsin). This means the Alpha-1- Antitrypsin you have circulating in your blood. If it is lower than normal -this depends on the lab in your country: ( <116mg/dL) then…
  • Step 2: Your DNA story. Your doctor requests a phenotype and a genetic test . Also it is important for your family to be tested to make sure everyone is checked out. You can find out what phenotype you are ( that means how your body functions because of your genetic make-up ). My tests as a baby, showed that I am ZZ  that means I have very little AAT (alpha-1-antitrypsin : a protein) in my blood.

In my case, I have some liver disease and I may develop lung disease or perhaps other disorders.

So I have to pay attention, look after my self and make sure I don’t

  • smoke or are around people who smoke,vape or do other stuff
  • work somewhere where there is a lot of pollution or other contaminants in the air
  • drink alcohol
  • look after my lungs and my liver as much as I can.

Keep my lifestyle on track.the best I can and of course eat healthily

It isn’t always easy and I am definitely not perfect, but I have met many people with lung disease and with transplants, lung and liver – so I can see that it really is important to keep on track if I don’t want to lose my health and the life I choose to live.

#surfandbreathe / #surfeayrespira

Come with me on my HappyAir journey across the world! Meeting people, sharing and spreading the word to as many people as possible in our great global surfing community!

¿Do you want to know more?

If you want to learn more about Alpha-1 and why we should all take care of our lung health go and visit:

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