Take a tiny coffee stirrer off the table, Donna Ray-Reifler told the luncheon guests. Put it in your mouth. Hold your nose shut.
Now breathe in -- and realize that having access to only a thin stream of air is what an asthma attack feels like.
"It's a frightening feeling, isn't it?" she asked as several dozen people struggled to inhale. "Imagine being a child and waking up in the middle of the night feeling like this."
Folks at the luncheon, held Thursday at Mohegan Sun in Plains Township to kick off the "Blow The Whistle on Asthma" fundraiser, want to help the 22.2 million children and adults across the country who have asthma.
The disorder is an inflammation of the airways that leads to breathing difficulties -- and kills 11 people per day, or 4,000 per year, in the United States.
To raise money to fight the disease, and to send local children with asthma to Camp AsthmaCadabra at Camp Kresge in White Haven, the local chapter of the American Lung Association will hold an Asthma Walk at 10 a.m. on June 6 at King's College Betzler Field in Wilkes-Barre Township.
Registration begins that day at 9 a.m., Ray-Reifler said, and at 10 a.m., participants will walk three laps around the track.
"It's not meant to be a challenge. I like to call it a celebration," said Ray-Reifler, who is manager of special events for the American Lung Association in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Afterward, there will be games, an ice cream social and the awarding of raffle items collected by Cross Valley Federal Credit Union, which is the presenting sponsor of the event. The Times Leader is also a sponsor.
Already, teams of walkers are registering online at www.asthmawalk.org.
"It's so hard to believe that people still die from sudden attacks," said Emily Ariel, a pulmonary nurse who is leader of the walking team from John Heinz Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine in Wilkes-Barre Township. "It's important to get the word out" that people with asthma need treatment, even if they're feeling well.
Ariel said she's passionate about lung health, and enthusiatically participated in a recent, more grueling fundraiser for the American Lung Association, one that involved climbing all 1,224 steps at the Wachovia Arena.
This one will be much easier, Ray-Reifler said, noting that the American Lung Association hopes to raise $70,000 through donations and pledges. Last year's Blow the Whistle on Asthma Walk raised $63,000.
To register, see www.asthmawalk. org.
Registration forms may also be picked up at Cross Valley Federal Credit Union branches or the lobby of The Times Leader. To see more of The Times Leader, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesleader.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.