Meet Your COPD Foundation Captains!

Wayland, MI

My name is Chrysalis, and I am a respiratory therapist who works in the durable medical equipment (DME) and homecare space. My grandmother died from COPD years ago, and I am so happy to have the opportunity to honor her memory by volunteering as a COPD State Captain. I also care for people living with COPD every day in my job, and I desire to better support and advocate for them.

As a COPD Foundation State Captain, I hope to speak up for people living with COPD in my local community, amplify the COPD community’s voice across social media platforms, and facilitate fundraising and awareness events virtually and in the area where I live.

My proudest moment was becoming a respiratory therapist despite the odds stacked against me. Now that I’m here, I am passionate about patient care and access, particularly for those with chronic lung disease. Supplemental oxygen access is important to me because of how limitations in the capabilities of O2 equipment burdened my grandmother at the end of her life. I also see the struggles of people living with COPD who use supplemental oxygen every day. One of my favorite quotes comes from the COPD Foundation’s own Mike Hess, a good friend. “Everybody needs O2; some bodies just need a little extra.” I want to see a day when people with COPD can live their best, most whole, and longest lives with access to all the therapies they need.