Jenna and JoJo

Jenna Zaffino:

Well, I'm thrilled to welcome Jojo O'Neil, a volunteer with the American Lung Association and our chat today. Jojo, welcome. How are you? 

JoJo Oneal:

I'm doing great, And. Thanks so much for having me. I appreciate it. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Absolutely. It's my pleasure. I'm excited to just get some heartfelt insider perspective from someone who is so familiar with lung disease and also who is absolutely, involved in the shaping of the organization through the input that you're, that you've shared, which thank you, by the way. 

JoJo Oneal:

Sure. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. So why don't you give us a little bit of your story, if you would, so we can understand kind of who you are and how you came to be a part of the American Lung Association? 

JoJo Oneal:

Sure. Absolutely. Again, thank you so much for having me. I I always am very grateful when someone wants to hear my story and and my perspective and when they actually are interested in that and listen to it and can take something away from it that can be of some assistance, hopefully, to somebody because that's really all I wanna do is be helpful to those who are experiencing lung disease, which is something that has not been a part of my entire life. I was, very active as a kid, very athletic. And then when I became a teenager, I I started, baton twirling and I was a dancer, you know. And so fast forward to and and, I ended up with a lot of congestion in my lungs left over from what I thought was a chest cold. But it's just continued to get worse and worse over an entire year.

It's pretty much got to the point where I just could not breathe. There was so much fluid in my lungs. And so I went out and had to find a doctor. At that point, I'd had no other health issues, so I had to find a primary care doctor at that point. And so long story short, the hereditary type of deal because our mother, a a hereditary type of deal because our mother, had asthma and most of my siblings have it as well. And it usually hit us all after the age of 40. And so that's when I began to experience struggles breathing and not knowing anything about asthma other than the fact that I'm familiar with that name, but I have no idea what it means. That sort of prompted me to not only ask questions for myself, but being a a radio personality, having, you know, my listeners, praying for me, reaching out to me, asking about asthma and then sharing their stories is when I realized that, you know what, a whole lot of us have this, why don't we know more about it? And that just kind of prompted me to start a nonprofit organization and then also to associate with the American Lung Association and eventually become a part of their patient advisory group to see what I could do to help just because education is lacking from a patient perspective. 

So that's where I wanted to focus. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. Absolutely. That's a thank you for sharing your story with us. I understand when I read the one of the, it's not a catchphrase, but, you know, a tag, let's say, when it says, when you can't breathe, nothing else matters. 

Jenna Zaffino:

I think that often we get into this space where the disease or the condition is taking all of your brain space to where maybe, you know, being able to go out there and seek information feels really hard or overwhelming because you're just trying to make it through the day. So what are some of the things that you learned initially from getting in touch with the lung and lung association that maybe you were able to share with your audience and your family? 

JoJo Oneal:

Basically, that there is a community of people out there ready to connect with me. I love that. But just also a lot of good information from the American Lung Association about my condition, other breathing conditions, places where we can go, a lot of articles, with the latest information on treatment, efforts toward research, and definitely efforts towards education about the condition itself. So they just approached it from a lot of different angles, especially, like I said, education, advocacy and research. And so there's just a lot of information for patients that can help us from our side of things to understand what's going on because that in turn makes us better patients for our doctors. And so it all kinda works together as one big asthma family and one hub and every person and every part of it, every piece fits into the puzzle, to get us to a point where we can survive and have a better quality of life when dealing with lung health issues. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Absolutely. Tell me a little bit more about how the information helps you become a better patient. 

JoJo Oneal:

Well, kind of for example, there are tips on what you can do to help battle the symptoms. Trying to think of some examples right offhand. What I really like and one area that I found interesting on, the Lung Association's website and from interacting with those associated with the Lung Association and hearing other people's stories. They feature those out there as well and those are really helpful. Other people's stories and what they're going through in their journeys and things that they've tried to do. Mhmm. We even have stuff as simple as, you know, information as simple as, you know, taking a couple sips of black coffee or hot coffee will sometimes provide a little bit of relief, you know? So I like that they provide not only medical information, but also information that's just average every day around the house type of deals, peppermint tea, you know, things like that. Yeah. 

And then those are shared from other patients as well. So anything that we can do to, you know, combat those symptoms and to just breathe better. So it's a lot of good information, like I said, from the medical community as Wellness, and as well as from the patients out there. I like hearing their stories too. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Excellent. And you spoke a little bit about finding out that there was a community that was out there willing to connect and share the stories. What do you think is the major role that community plays in people living with lung disease? 

JoJo Oneal:

Yeah. Just like any support group for any other condition or any other issue or challenge that people deal with, Just having that support. For me, I used to feel as if no one around me understood what it was like to struggle to breathe. And, that was pretty much true. And so I would find myself not saying a lot if I started feeling symptoms. I wouldn't say anything because I didn't want to draw attention to myself. I didn't want to cause any problems or any issues. I didn't wanna frustrate anybody. But eventually, I get to the point where I'd have to say something. It's like, look, I'm struggling to breathe. And so I need your help. You know? Get me to the ER. That type of deal. So that's Yeah. 

Jenna Zaffino:

It's Like, the strong woman persona. Right? Yep. I can handle it until I can't? 

JoJo Oneal:

Until I can't. Yeah. Yeah. So just Yeah. It's a challenge. It really is. But education is so important for us to learn how to deal with what we're going through. And the best way is to talk with others who are going through it. 

JoJo Oneal:

So that whole support hub and support system is important because no one's symptoms are exactly the same. No one's triggers are exactly the same, but, the end result, we can't breathe that we all have in common. And so when you can interact with someone who knows exactly what that feels like, it gives you, you know, some incentive and some encouragement to keep going, and we can all find answers together that will help us individually and collectively. You know? 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. I I can imagine. It feels so important to have people who can speak the language of your disease. And I wonder if that's been helpful in you being able to express some of your needs to people who aren't living with lung disease, family members or friends, things like that. 

JoJo Oneal:

It has been. And hearing other people's stories and connecting through a support network to other patients and hearing some of the ways that they describe what they're going through. It helps when it comes to dealing with those who are living outside of dealing with lung health issues. We come up with catch phrases like breathing is and, or, you know, when you can't breathe, nothing else matters. That's right. Or, there was one other. We we use the term a lot, just breathe. You know. 

JoJo Oneal:

Mhmm. There are others, but they'll pop into my head eventually. But just and just here's one thing that we like to do. It's like a little test that we do with those who are outside of the lung health community. Those who don't have lung diseases. We'll take little cocktail straws, little tiny sippy straws, tiny ones, and, we'll have someone hold their nose and just breathe through that little tiny straw. And we say, see how long you can do that with having to struggle to draw in breath through that tiny little straw and hold your nose, see how long you can survive. We call it the straw test And 9 times out of 10, most people don't make it to 10 seconds, let alone 15 seconds. 

JoJo Oneal:

And they immediately pull it away and go, oh, wow. That's just a little bit of what you're experiencing. I say, yeah. That's just a little bit of what we experience when our lungs have tightened up and, you know, we are struggling to get that air in and we're wheezing and, you know, just having a difficult time and not being able to focus on anything else other than where's my next breath coming from. The entire body is on full alert. We gotta force our bodies to breathe in and out. So, yeah, things like that will help, you know, get that information across to those who've never had to struggle to breathe. 

Jenna Zaffino:

What a great bridge from a place of, you know, maybe not having the information to a place of empathy. Because it does I mean, obviously, we don't want to impart difficulty breathing on anyone. But if they can feel the sense of the challenge, then suddenly they can step better into your shoes and maybe understand a little bit more. It really reminds me of the spoon theory they use in autoimmune communities. I don't know if you've ever heard of that one. 

JoJo Oneal:

I've never heard of that one. 

Jenna Zaffino:

It's an interesting one. So it was created by a woman who was having a conversation with her friend, and her friend didn't understand. She said, you look okay. You look fine. I don't know. It doesn't seem like you're sick. And she said, well, let me show you how my illness manifests. And she gave her, you know, a, like, a container of spoons, like, you would get at a diner, and she said, okay. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Well, talk me through your morning. And she talked her through waking up and brushing her teeth, and each one of those is a spoon, each one of those is a spoon, so it costs you some energy, the energy represented by the spoon. And so the person without autoimmune uses a lot of spoons, and so the then the other person took half of the spoons away and she said, okay, now you're working with this, and there's no guarantee you're going to get any more spoons after you use these ones and, so you have to really pick and choose which ones are going to be important for you to use because you might be able to go to the grocery store and you might be able to, you know, take a walk, but you can't do both. So you gotta choose. And so it's I think pieces of information that kind of put people into the mindset of what it looks like to stare the challenge in the face and have to figure out what your choices are in that space are just so, so important. 

JoJo Oneal:

Absolutely. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. Thank you for sharing the straw test too. 

JoJo Oneal:

That spoon test too. I'd never heard that and. But it just helps people to understand or be more empathetic toward what we're going through. Yeah. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. And that's what happens in community. Right? Even if it's about the same illness or different illnesses, we start to come together because the human condition is one of struggle. 

JoJo Oneal:

That's right. Some people have more struggle along with it, but that's one thing we can really align with, I believe. 

JoJo Oneal:

Yeah. The struggle is real. 

Jenna Zaffino:

The struggle is real. 

JoJo Oneal:

That's another catchphrase. Yes. 

JoJo Oneal:

Yeah. Some days I say, you know, I feel like I'm driving the struggle bus today. I'm not just a passenger. It's a tougher day than yesterday. You know? 

Jenna Zaffino:

Beep beep. Yes. Absolutely. My goodness. Absolutely. So I'm curious. You've been a part of some of the focus groups for the American Lung Association. What are some of the insights that have come out of those conversations, and how do you think that they've influenced some of the content in the direction that the American Lung Association is headed? 

JoJo Oneal:

It's interesting because I was fortunate enough to be selected to be a part of the patient advisory group with the American Lung Association from its inception. And so going from the very first meeting where we are all and of looking at each other going, you know, the lung associate is going, okay. What can we do to help you? And we're looking at them going, well, what is it that you want from us that will help you? You know, we've been trying to figure it out. Fast forward to these, several years later where now the patient advisory group members are becoming infused into the process of helping clinicians and researchers to get their, their clinical studies off the ground, you know, and to have input from a patient perspective, about different insights that that go into the research and the work that they're doing, clinical trials and studies and things of that nature. We're able to provide input to help them with that. And, that is a really big step. Even and even things that's, I say as simple as, but marketing materials, for example, where they get our input on, how does this look, or is this something that is appealing to the eye, or in one of the pieces of written material that they were planning to use. And I said, well, if you're gonna send that out to people 40 and over, you need to increase the size of the font. 

JoJo Oneal:

And they were like, oh, we haven't thought about that. I'm like, yeah. Because at this age, these are not. It's not that bad. Stupid. You know? So the things like that, everything that we can think of from a patient's perspective, we provide input, you know, for the doctors, researchers, clinicians, for, administrative staff, you know, everybody who's involved, marketing folks, and it's well received. And that's one thing that is really, has really been rewarding to us. And I think I can speak on behalf of the patient advisory group. It's been rewarding to know that we're not just, you know, being blown off like, oh, yeah. 

JoJo Oneal:

That's what they said, but we're gonna do this. They're really listening to our ideas and implementing our ideas. And, you know, they ask us questions. Sometimes they send surveys, you know, and we'll give our honest opinion and our feedback from our perspective. So that's the best way to find out how to serve a lung health patient. Ask the patient. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I think it's like and again, another bridge to making treatments and even studies more effective. I know from a wellness perspective, sometimes you see these studies and you're like, yeah. I get what you're saying, but you didn't. You didn't work with the people who are gonna be affected by the outcome of this study. You did it on rats or, you know, healthy humans or whatever it is. You didn't look at the actual subjects that you need to account for. So, thank you to the advisory board for the work that you're doing. I'm I'm I'm glad to hear that it's been instrumental in guiding a lot of the initiatives forward, and I'm sure that the people on the receiving end are grateful as well. 

JoJo Oneal:

Yeah. We're just grateful, and thank you to the American Lung Association for hearing us. We appreciate that. It even helps to improve the doctor patient relationships, you know, and how Mhmm. The doctors interact with the patients and how they talk to us, the type of language that they use. And, you know, it goes hand in hand because the more we know as patients also from that educational perspective, the better patients it makes us for the doctors. It makes their jobs a lot easier to diagnose and treat if we're in compliance. And a lot of times, we're not in compliance simply because we just don't know what we don't know. 

JoJo Oneal:

And so to educate us, it makes us better patients too. 

Jenna Zaffino:

And when you talk about the sorts of language the doctors use, is it more on the side of straight talk, for lack of a better word. Versus medical jargon? Yeah. 

JoJo Oneal:

Just bring it down here, doc. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Bring it 

JoJo Oneal:

down here. Bring it down a little bit. What is that? What does this long word mean? Yeah. Yeah. Don't make me look it up. Don't make me Google it. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Right. Right. And sometimes I watch medical shows and I'm like, yeah. Is this, you know, like the medical dramas where they have to, like, educate the audience and what they're talking about. So they have to use all the big words so it's like, no. Just tell us what's going on. It's intimidating.  

JoJo Oneal:

Yeah. A lot of times, patients will just sit there and smile and nod. And and even if they're asked by a doctor or someone in the office staff medical staff. You know, okay. So you understand? Because at that point, you don't even know what to ask or how to mask it.

 Jenna Zaffino:

Information overload. Yeah. It's so important. 

JoJo Oneal:

It is intimidating. 

Jenna Zaffino:

So so one of the things that we're working on right now, and, well, hopefully, the viewers who are watching and listening to this will will be inside of the PCN Wellness hub, which is a collection of practices and exercises and interviews and recipes that are really designed to support the quality of life of people who are living with lung disease. And we say people, the person first. Yes. I wonder when wellness, the word wellness or even well-being comes to mind, what comes up for you? 

JoJo Oneal:

To me, that just a word that encompasses everything, wellness, overall wellness, from head to toe, really. Because, when you think about it, there are so many other things that can affect our breathing other than, you know, and other than maybe just our immediate triggers. You know, there is a nutrition section of the patient hub that's coming up because there are certain foods that can either help or or cause more damage or even harm. Some are anti-inflammatory that will help us. You know? We need to know certain types of things that, are good for us to eat that may help with our breathing, or what types of things to drink that may help with our breathing. I mentioned a little while ago, peppermint tea is one of my go to's because it really just kinda opens up my sinuses as well as helps with my lung issues. But, yeah, just for me, when you say wellness, it's just a whole body approach, psychological, you know, even with my nonprofit organization. We focus on education. 

JoJo Oneal:

We will sometimes, during our monthly support group meetups, we'll sometimes bring in psychologists or therapists, to approach it from that angle because, you know, anxiety kicks in when you're having trouble breathing. That's one of the first things. And even with cardiologists, because when we struggle to breathe also the heart races, you know, because the heart and lungs are like peanut butter and jelly. They are so closely related. So just a different thing. Oh, wellness to me means approaching it from every angle that you can think of to get a whole body wellness going on even from, as far as weight management. I know that at one point during my journey, I was on heavy doses of steroids, which increased my weight drastically and very quickly. Yeah. 

JoJo Oneal:

And so there was an entire, different struggle that came into play at that point because there'd be times where I'd be huffing and puffing and struggling to breathe, and it had nothing to do with asthma. It's because I was heavy. Mhmm. You know, people were like, oh, you're having trouble with your asthma? No. I'm just heavy. I'm struggling to walk because I'm chunky now. And This. Yeah. 

JoJo Oneal:

So that whole body, overall wellness. You know? Sometimes, some of the treatments will cause other issues. I had to take one medication to combat the potential onset of diabetes because of the treatment I was getting to help my lungs. It could cause something else. So it's, for me, wellness is an all encompassing, term that I am excited to, see the association continue to embrace because they've always done that really. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. And really, really taking a holistic approach, like you're saying. I mean, I think that, you know, when you look down the lens, look through the lens of, like, general health and well-being. There's an understanding across the board of how we think things are supposed to be based on what we see in the media and based on, you know, the people who look the most well, whatever that means, but you have those people out there. What we don't get is those underneath stories. Like you're saying, we don't we don't get the effect of steroids on the body, which is major. 

Jenna Zaffino:

So many of my clients are dealing with exactly what you're talking about, or the mental effect that goes into play when you introduce a new medication that's treating your disease, but also messing with your mind a little bit. 

JoJo Oneal:

And Yeah. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. The support is necessary for sure. Yeah. I wonder, if you can imagine somebody coming to the American Lung Association website and seeing that wellness button, let's say. 

JoJo Oneal:

Yeah. 

Jenna Zaffino:

What do you think they are going to be most excited to receive? 

JoJo Oneal:

Oh, my goodness. First of all, excited to receive a one stop shop sort of a deal. You know? Honey, I'm home. Here's this one hub that can help me with every angle that I can think of as it pertains to dealing with my lung health. You know, I can interact and communicate with people who are experiencing just what I'm going through. I can get information from the doctors. I can find out different treatments. I can learn where to go if I need, you know, to learn what to what foods I can eat that may help with my condition or what may harm my and. 

JoJo Oneal:

Just that one stop shop. It's really kinda tiring when you have to click around to find the things that you may need and then try and gather it all together into one location. So when it's done for us, it just makes our job a whole lot easier. It's like, honey, I'm home. Look 

Jenna Zaffino:

at this. 

JoJo Oneal:

It's a whole wellness hub just for us. And as well as, you know, in addition to the patients, also the Caregiver, because that's a tough job too. I used to really worry my family years ago unintentionally, but they would have to watch me struggle to breathe. And it was very I. I had to realize that that was very traumatic for them not knowing what to do to help me, that they were experiencing that right along with me. So, yeah, for the patients and the caregivers as Wellness. Just a one stop shop, so to speak. Yeah. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Fantastic. Thank you for that feedback. It's really good to hear because I think that that's our entire intention. And as you said to your point, the caregiver role is so important, but it's often the one that isn't focused upon as strongly as the patient for obvious reasons. And one of our objectives is to really strengthen the relationship between patient and caregiver so that there will be practices for folks to do together to have fun with or explore or move or breathe. And just going back to the space of community to bridge that gap and pull people into the practices together has been a really important goal. So that is good to hear. What about you? What's on your wellness wish list? 

JoJo Oneal:

My wellness wish list. Let me think. I'm gonna have to think back to the time when my symptoms weren't under control. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Sure. Or even now. I mean, you can be bold now. That's true. 

JoJo Oneal:

Right now, nowadays, after many, many years of asking questions and educating myself, and, of course, that's a never ending cycle. You continue to learn. But after, getting to a point where I actually feel like I've never been diagnosed, and that's because of the current treatment, but it took a lot of time to get there. But, I'm thinking back to a time when I really struggled and on my wellness wish list is for the general public, I think, to be more informed about the dangers of lung disease. It almost feels and and maybe having asthma, I'll be speaking from an asthma patient perspective. Asthma, in my opinion, just feels like it gets overlooked, taken for granted, really and tossed aside like, Oh yeah, it's just asthma. Because it's a term that so many people are familiar with, but very few, unless they have experienced it personally, know what the underlying meaning of that is. And sometimes you have to put it in their face, people die. 

JoJo Oneal:

Think about what happens when you don't breathe people. So for me, I think my wellness wish would be for the general public to have a better grasp of just what lung health means and the importance of it. Because that's the part that I really have to explain to a lot of people outside of the lung health community. Here's what we go through. Here's what this means. And they're not, you know, being mean about it. They just because breathing is effortless until you have to struggle to do it. And so it's just not something that comes across their radar. 

JoJo Oneal:

And so, asthma does, in my opinion, like I said, get overlooked and taken for granted and marginalized. And so that's my Wellness wish is that everyone knows the significance, the importance of breathing well. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. Breathing well. Yeah. Which is interesting. You know, I'm I'm largely in the wellness and fitness space, and so, like, so many folks are trying to optimize breath for high performance and do all that, you know, just really, like, work the system 

JoJo Oneal:

Yes. 

Jenna Zaffino:

In a body that's not encumbered by disease or dysfunction. And what I think would be so helpful is if we could turn down the volume on that need to optimize and instead understand, understand the different levels that breathing exists on and that there are possibilities and limitations at each level, and we should all be aware of them for each other. Especially when it comes to things like the environment. Right? 

JoJo Oneal:

Yes. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yes. What are your -  I'd love to just hear some of your commentary on maybe some simple things that people who aren't living with lung disease can be conscientious about in terms of the environments they're responsible for? 

JoJo Oneal:

Because we yeah. 1st, I like to say to people, we all need to breathe. We all need to breathe. And you and I often tell people who have no lung health issues, you don't wanna get to the point where you do have any lung health issues. And then I also like to ask those who are not personally diagnosed with any type of lung disease. I usually like to ask them, do you know someone? Is there someone you know personally who either has asthma or COPD or lung cancer or some other lung health issue? 9 times out of 10, they will say yes, and then they'll begin to share their story. You know? So when it's personal, when we when we have them make it personal to them, then I think they will be a lot more understanding when it comes to the environment. One brief example is when, for example, smokers, you know, and I'm a reform smoker myself, so I I but sometimes people don't realize that just because they're outdoors, they think that it's not going to affect people around them or the environment, and know, and not picking on smokers or anything, but, you know, just, something to be conscious of.

 JoJo Oneal:

Something definitely to be conscious of and other things that will affect the environment and the quality of our air, you know. So, even when it comes to littering and trash and stuff that's laying around, you know. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. What's interesting, there's a lot of wellness spaces that, you know, include things like incense and candles and, you know, scents, big heavy scents. And it's, it's always curious to me as to, whether or not they thought about that choice 

JoJo Oneal:

Yeah. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Because there's going to be breathing happening in that environment. Absolutely. And for those who have lung disease, we wanna make it as easy as possible to get the breath they need. 

JoJo Oneal:

Absolutely. And I'm seeing a lot more, just as one example, restaurants for one example, they used to have actually the candles on the tables for dining. Mhmm. I'm seeing a lot more of them going to, like, the tea lights. 

Jenna Zaffino:

The e candles. Yeah. 

JoJo Oneal:

Candles and things like that. Mhmm. I still occasionally will receive gifts and most times from people who aren't really close to me because candles are beautiful and they're wonderful and they smell great, but sometimes people will gift them to me. And I will be very gracious, and I go, oh, this is beautiful, and it smells wonderful. I won't be able to light it, but I can still smell it. You know? You know? So things like that. You know? They're like, oh my god. I didn't even think about that.

 JoJo Oneal:

You know? Like, yeah. Because Yeah. Every little tendril of smoke is something that's affecting my air quality and my environment. You know? So stuff like that. Environment. You know? So stuff like that. 

Jenna Zaffino:

It's interesting, just a little information can go such a long way for sure. 

JoJo Oneal:

Yeah. And, you know, we just wanna spread the information and, you know, reach as many people as we can to share our stories, you know? 

Jenna Zaffino:

Beautiful. Speaking of which, what's something that you believe would be helpful for people living with lung disease to hear?

 JoJo Oneal:

That there's hope. That there is hope, that there are things that we can do in addition to just our treatment that we receive from the medical community. There are other things that we can do on our own, you know, to connect with support groups, being 1, and people who are going through the same thing and sharing tips on things that might help. You know? Like, hey. This might work. This worked for me. You know? Why don't you try this? Or, you know, but never to give up hope and to never stop seeking information and education about their condition. My condition when I was first diagnosed was so awful because of a basic lack of knowledge. 

JoJo Oneal:

I didn't know that I may have to treat myself with medication every day for the rest of my life. I would take it until I started feeling better, then I'd stop. Then my lungs would fill up with fluid again, then I struggled to breathe and, you know, so it was a never ending cycle. So just one thing I would say to the lung health community is never give up hope and never stop seeking information and education. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. Yeah. And, again, it's really coming back to that living element of it, that quality of life. Yeah. You know, incur including your disease, but also really focused on how you are living through your day, 

JoJo Oneal:

and 

Jenna Zaffino:

hope is a major ingredient to 

JoJo Oneal:

Don't let it define you. You don't let that be who you are. With my organization, my let's kick asthma nonprofit, we focus on what we can do with asthma as opposed to the things that we can't do. We don't focus on the limitations. We focus on the expectations of what we're going to be able to do and then the things that we are able to do and just, you know, conquer those challenges as best we can to to do, you know, do what we can to breathe better, but we'd never focus on, what we can't do and the limitations that asthma ray bring in our lives. So that's another thing. You know? Like, don't focus on what you can't do, but focus on what you can do. And Right. 

JoJo Oneal:

Try to make things as best as you can. You know? 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. Absolutely. Well, when we talk about behavioral change, we always say the way you do one thing is the way you do everything. So if you're approaching and able to approach your condition with a sense of hope, that is going to have that trickle effect. 

JoJo Oneal:

Absolutely. 

Jenna Zaffino:

And working on that positive mindset. Mhmm. 

JoJo Oneal:

And then also I would say to them, don't be afraid to challenge yourself. You know, definitely, stay in compliance with what your doctors are, offering you for treatment. Definitely stay in compliance, but don't be afraid to challenge yourself. You know? For me, my challenge is my and here's the funny part. My allergist is on the 3rd floor, every month I go in for my treatment, and I choose the stairs over the elevator every time. And to me, it's almost like engaging as to how well I'm breathing. There are days when I would struggle at the top of that 3rd flight of stairs. And then there are other days when I go up the 3 flights and the recovery time is minimal with my lungs. 

JoJo Oneal:

You know? So, there's little things like that, or I'll park a little further away in the parking lot and and walk a little further. So don't be afraid without endangering your health, your lung health. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Of course. 

JoJo Oneal:

Don't be afraid to challenge yourself. Yeah. 

Jenna Zaffino:

There's a way that we talk about that concept that that you're you're talking about, pushing your edges, finding ways to challenge yourself. And it's a check-in process. So we work from the premise that on any given day, you have a certain amount of movement, you know, pushing energy Mhmm. That's available to you. And like you say, some days you're gonna have more of that based on a number of different factors, whether it's how you've eaten, how you've slept, how you're breathing, how you're just feeling mentally, how you're supported. And so if you have the opportunity to do a check-in and and really sense, like, what am I made for today? 

JoJo Oneal:

Yeah. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Then that day might mean I'm made for parking 5 spots away or a block away. It also might mean I'm made for parking as close to the building and taking the elevator because today is not the day to push. Right. And I think that scale of possibilities, it's so helpful in giving us choices for what our challenges can be on those days. And I I find it to be really liberating for folks who feel like there's a lot of limitations. It's like, yes. And we there are and, also, there's some things that we can work on that might be more helpful. Thank you for bringing that one 

JoJo Oneal:

up. As long as we're trying our best, if today is not as good as a couple of days ago, that's okay too as long as you're still trying. Don't beat yourself up about the fact that, hey. I'm not able to do what I was able to do last week. Or you know, I have to tell myself that constantly because at the end at the beginning of this year, I made a new year's resolution for myself, Jenna. I did. I said being, someone who has lung health issues and my lungs are compromised, I and I'm not which means that I'm not much of a runner. Although I was once athletic, I'm still not much of a runner nowadays. 

JoJo Oneal:

I wasn't then, I'm still not now. But at the beginning of this year, I said, I am going to make a new year's resolution to run as many 5 k races as I can within the year of 2024, as many as I can fit onto my schedule. And what I found is here we are in April, almost mid April. I've completed 6 5 k races so far this year. And what I'm finding is that my time is getting better and faster each time. So I really think that it's helping to strengthen my lungs. So Absolutely. I attempt to admonish myself because the first couple of races, I was doing really great. 

JoJo Oneal:

And then in the 3rd or 4th race, I didn't think that my time had gotten better. And I started feeling down about it and started feeling discouraged. And, actually, when I went back and looked at the official timing, my time had gotten better. But I remember that brief moment of thinking I didn't do better this time than I did last time in that 5 k. And so you can't beat yourself up. You just gotta do the best you can on any given day. But as long as you're trying, that is is a good step right there. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Right. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. So what are you looking forward to in the coming months? We're just going into springtime at this point in time. What are some of the things that you're excited about in your life or with with Eve with American Lung Association, but, certainly, I wanna hear about your life. That's the interesting piece. Right? 

JoJo Oneal:

Well, first, with the American Lung Association, it's a win win with me because in addition to wanting to be helpful within the capacity of offering my patient perspective with the Lung Association's Patient advisory group. But just also, I love to travel. And so whenever we are able to travel to, either the steering committee meetings or, our next visit is gonna be a visit to one of the airways clinical research centers. I'm excited about that. So it's a win win. I've been looking forward to that. I'll always look forward to our gatherings in person, because over the years, you come to know the people who are a part of the organization, and we've become like a family. So it's almost like many family reunions when we come together. 

JoJo Oneal:

So looking forward to those events with the And Association. Personally, you know, I live in Central Florida, so I'm looking forward to getting back out on the beaches here in the Central Florida area. Looking, but, yeah, just some of the things. Yeah. A couple of things I'm looking forward to. Yeah. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yeah. Beautiful. Well, I look forward to, you know, kind of following your journey and hopefully getting to know you a bit better through our work with the Lung Association. And I just wanna thank you so much for sharing your story and your insights and all of the information that's been so important to the American Lung Association through the volunteerism and the committee. It's been a pleasure to be here with you today, and I just wanna thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

JoJo Oneal:

Oh, no worries. Thank you so much for asking me, first of all, and, you know, feeling that I was worthy of the task, and I'm just excited to be included. I'm always excited to participate, and I'm always looking for new family members. So you're my new sister. So just so you know. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Yay. Well, you're my new sister. That's right. That's right. I love it. 

JoJo Oneal:

Always love it. New family members. So thank you so much for being so kind and so patient with me and, you know, inviting me in. I appreciate it. 

Jenna Zaffino:

Absolutely. Yeah. I'll look forward to moving with you in the wellness hub. 

JoJo Oneal:

Yes. I'll see you in the wellness hub.