The ERS Congress saw Liam Galvin take over from Mikaela Odemyr as Chair of the ELF Patient Advisory Committee (PAC). In this article, we share Mikaela’s perspectives from her time as ELF PAC Chair.
Mikaela’s time as Chair of the ELF Patient Advisory Committee (PAC) began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although not an easy start, Mikaela’s positive attitude and passion for working with others was clear from the beginning. Mikaela’s belief that people living with lung conditions should have access to equal opportunities, has fueled her advocacy work and seen her run camping trips for those with allergies and asthma and produced an allergy-friendly baking book, alongside her daughter.
Mikaela also had many aspirations for what she wanted to achieve during her time in the role. From her previous work as second vice-president of the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association and President of the European Federation of Allergy and Airway Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA), Mikaela was no stranger to working alongside patient associations and offering her expertise. After 4 years in the role of PAC Chair, Mikaela has reflected on her experiences.
Being Chair of the ELF PAC has been an amazing 4 years where I really got to understand and be part of the great work that is being done by the European Lung Foundation (ELF) and European Respiratory Society (ERS). I have also learned more about the importance of joining forces in advocating for better lung health. Since my focus is always on solutions and collaborating to increase knowledge of lung diseases, working together with other members from the Patient Advisory Committee (PAC) has been an honour and I am very impressed by the work being done by them.
It is important to understand that change takes time, but you must focus on seeing the positives in things and being polite when advocating. When you have experience of living with a disease and the passion to drive for a better quality of life, that is key.
My main memories are from having engaging talks with the members of the ELF network.
I have lovely memories of both Dan Smyth and Isabel Saraiva, previous ELF Chairs and patient advocates. They both encouraged me to apply and become more involved with ELF. From becoming involved with ELF, I was able to give a speech during Patient Organisation Networking Day at the ERS Congress in Milan 2023. Here, I spoke about my son and asthma and received great feedback afterwards and was invited to deliver the same speech in other countries.
I also remember after the pandemic where I got to meet some of the new members in real life, instead of online. It was also exciting when Pippa and Courtney from ELF joined me for dinner at a restaurant in Stockholm and we had to climb up to a table above everyone else’s. We had an amazing dinner and some great conversations!
I want to keep advocating for better lung health through increasing understanding around lung disease and advocating for equal care worldwide. In fact, my baking book has just been published in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This has been designed for people living with allergies and shows them what they can do with food, rather than what they cannot.
I am so grateful for this experience, and it has been so lovely working with our members but also the amazing ELF staff in Sheffield and in Brussels.
Never forget that one of the most wonderful words is Together! Together we can achieve our goals and promote change! – Mikaela Odemyr
