By Anthony Arnold, PRC-Saltillo Ambassador
I’m Anthony Arnold, an augmentative and alternative communicator from San Tan Valley, Arizona. For almost my entire life, I have had episodes with my allergies and asthma. Sometimes, it has been manageable, and other times it has been problematic.
On May 16, 2024, my dad and I had a good day in the morning. We ran some errands and returned home around noon, and Dad was preparing lunch. While he was preparing, I went into my room to do some emails. Moments later, I went back into our kitchen and said something to the effect of, “I can’t breathe. I think that we need to go to the hospital.” I didn’t even want to eat lunch because I feared choking on my food and causing more significant problems. I also didn’t want to do a breathing treatment at home because I wanted them to see me at my worst. My dad took my word, and we went to the hospital.
When we arrived at the hospital, they could see my distress and took us back to a room immediately, where doctors and nurses came right out of the woodwork. We were very impressed with their promptness. They wanted to do whatever they could to help me. They could see my determination to beat this and carry on with life.
We were in a room in the emergency room for several hours before a room in the ICU was available for me. I was in the ICU on oxygen, for three days and another day in a regular hospital room.
Throughout my recovery, everyone has been impressed with how I can express my needs, which has helped them help me more effectively.
Thanks to my communication device and a robust vocabulary system, I could get medical care swiftly. I don’t want to think about what the outcome would have been like if I had nothing in place for effective communication. After this, my faith in augmentative and alternative communication has strengthened. These devices are essential in every aspect of our lives. My communication device even saved my life, which I will never forget.
This episode might have been a few weeks back, but I still occasionally need breathing treatments, and my communication device is essential in this regard as well. Without some way to express “I need a treatment,” I might be right back at square one, which I don’t want ever to experience again.
By sharing my story, I hope that different insurance companies and policymakers will see it and think of better ways for individuals to attain effective AAC solutions. We must move beyond the upfront cost and focus on long-term results, often leading to potential savings.
If you want to reach out, my door is always open.
Editor's comment: You can reach Anthony by messaging him below.
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Communicators In Action - lifesaver, Anthony, emergency, recovery