Alpha Stories

Kiwi Alpha Co-Leaders – Marilyn Black, Val Orchard, Jim Clarke – The Need to Share

Welcome to the bottom of the world and the Alpha-1 Association New Zealand group. In New Zealand we do not have an individual leader but …

Mariano Pastor – The Unifying Fight of Alpha-1

Mariano Pastor (Madrid, Spain) has been the president of the Spanish Alpha-1 Association since 2011. He was diagnosed with severe COPD in 1996, at the …

Robert Durlik – Finding Time to Impact His Community

Robert Durlik (Warsaw, Poland) is this Issue’s Alpha-1 Leader in Action. He knows full well the challenges and commitment that is required to bring about …

Ella Geiblinger – Making a Difference Through Action

Alpha1-Austria was founded in 2004 by Walter Berger, his wife Christa and his brother Alois Berger; both brothers were Alpha-1 patients, type ZZ. All three …

Cristina Barbiero, Alpha-1 Leader In Action: Carrying On A Legacy

Cristina Barbiero from Rome, Italy, is our Alpha-1 Leader in Action for this issue. She is intimately familiar with Alpha-1 through its profound effects to …

Richard Lovrich, Alpha-1 Leader In Action: Don’t Wait To Improve The World

Hello, I would like to introduce myself, my name is Richard Lovrich and I am the leader of the newly formed New York Capital Region …

Heleen Groen, Alpha-1 Leader In Action: The Difference A Year Makes

For Heleen Groen of Alpha-1 Netherlands 2016 was a remarkable year. Her health improved, she launched the Dutch Alpha-1 Foundation, established a Medical Advisory Board, …

Renate Shashoua, Alpha-1 Leader In Action: In Search Of Other Alphas

About 15 years ago, breathing became more and more difficult for Renate Shashoua. Mountain walks, folk costume dancing, gardening and even housework became more tedious. …

Karen Skålvoll, Alpha-1 Leader In Action: The Unstoppable Athlete

At the early age of five Karen Skålvoll started out as an athlete, with disciplines in swimming and horse riding. Eventually she also took up …