Annie Vinton has joined the FIT Board. She has a background in charity administration, and skin care. She became involved with fungal disease when her husband Alan developed chronic pulmonary aspergillosis in 2011, and she cared for him since then.
Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis is a complex disorder requiring long term antifungal therapy and follow up. Alan’s case was particularly complex, and he suffered from several significant side effect issues with antifungals. This led Annie to become a ‘patient expert’ in antifungals, necessary as Alan’s GP was not familiar with some of the drugs and nor was the local hospital.
Annie said on joining the Trustees: ‘My health journey with Alan was long and bumpy in terms of difficult medical decisions, with limited evidence supporting the best choice for him, as options the usual therapy options closed down. I hope that my experience can guide other patients and their carers and that my advocacy for Alan can be directed towards more general support for those suffering from fungal infection.’
Philip Oxnam, Chair of the Trustees, declared: ‘It is wonderful to welcome to the Board such a seasoned patient advocate, experienced in fungal disease care. The FIT has long supported patient information through its website Aspergillosis for Patient & Carer Support [hyperlink], and the addition of Annie to the Board adds a new and important scope of FIT’s contribution to reducing illness and death from fungal disease.