About PneumoStrong

June 16, 2024  Foundation

PneumoStrong officially began on June 16, 2024. After experiencing a spontaneous pneumothorax, I realized how little awareness and support existed for patients going through the same thing. I launched the campaign as a digital home for lung health advocacy and patient connection. During this stage, I set up the website, domain, CMS, and email infrastructure, while outlining the mission: to raise awareness, share lived experiences, and make research accessible for patients and families.

July 20, 2024 – Collecting Patient Stories

By late July, the campaign started to focus on patient voices. I designed surveys with privacy and consent protections, then began interviewing and collecting lived experiences. These conversations became the heart of PneumoStrong, as patients trusted the platform with their deeply personal journeys. The first stories were published online shortly after, and over time the collection grew to more than 20, each one edited carefully to highlight not only the medical journey but also the emotional resilience behind it.

August–September 2024 – Building the Evidence Base

With patient stories forming, I dedicated August and September to completing a literature review of peer-reviewed studies and guidelines from public health agencies. The goal was to translate complex research into accessible content. Posts were developed into infographics, FAQs, and step-by-step guides that explained surgery, recovery, symptoms, and coping strategies. This blend of research and real experiences became the foundation of PneumoStrong’s educational resources.

November 2024–January 2025 – Merchandise Launch

As awareness grew, PneumoStrong introduced its first official merchandise: the PneumoStrong Classic Tee. Crafted from 100% cotton, the T-shirt was designed to be both comfortable and symbolic. The minimalist logo and premium quality made it easy to wear while sparking conversations about lung health. The tees were given out free at events, but very purchase directly supported the campaign’s educational initiatives and community-building efforts. 

November 2024 – Event Merchandise Giveaway

At community events, PneumoStrong distributed a limited number of Classic Tees for free as a way to spark awareness, start conversations, and help patients feel represented and supported in public spaces.

December 2024–January 2025 – Fundraiser for Educational Resources

A small merchandise-based fundraiser was launched to support the development of new educational materials. All proceeds were reinvested into creating accessible guides, visuals, and patient support content for the PneumoStrong community.

January 2025 – Community Growth

As the campaign expanded across four major platforms, the reach surpassed 100,000 views and the community grew to over 400 active followers. More importantly, direct messages began arriving daily from people around the world. Many expressed gratitude, saying the posts calmed their fears before surgery or helped them understand that recovery would take time. This was the stage where PneumoStrong shifted from being just a campaign into a community.

February 2025 – Merchandise Discontinued

After a limited run, PneumoStrong merchandise was officially discontinued in February 2025 as all stock ran out. The decision reflected a shift in focus toward expanding digital advocacy and educational resources. While the T-shirt line closed, the merch project demonstrated the community’s willingness to proudly represent PneumoStrong and helped fund the campaign’s early growth.

March-April 2025 – Patient Reflections

Patients who had engaged with PneumoStrong started sending in their reflections. More than 10 campaign reviews were published, where participants described how the campaign reduced their pre- and post-operative anxiety. Many reported that the stories gave them courage to face surgery, validation that their struggles were normal, and emotional support by relating to others’ journeys. These reflections proved the campaign was not only informative but also transformative for the people it reached.

May 2025 – Documenting Impact

As the first year came to a close, I compiled all the work into impact reports. This included the synthesis of more than 100 studies, 20+ patient stories, expert collaborations, and community feedback. The documentation showed clearly how PneumoStrong had turned isolation into connection and fear into courage. It also laid the groundwork for the campaign to continue growing as both a support hub and an advocacy platform. A new content series on Understanding Pneumothorax Surgery was introduced, combining simple visuals, evidence-based facts, and patient voices to make complex medical information approachable.

June 1, 2025 – One Year Later

By June 2025, PneumoStrong had evolved from one person’s story into a collective voice. In a single year, it created a library of evidence-based resources, amplified dozens of patient stories, built partnerships with experts and organizations, and reached over 100,000 people across the world. More importantly, it gave patients a place to feel understood, validated, and supported. What began as a personal project became a digital advocacy community with real and lasting impact.

July 2025 – Expert Voices and Partnerships

Over the summer the campaign interviewed a pulmonologist and a lung researcher to record interviews and gain insight.  At the same time, partnerships with patient advocacy organizations allowed PneumoStrong to connect with broader networks of people living with respiratory challenges. Accessibility was prioritized with captions, alt text, and transcripts, ensuring the content could reach more people.  Interactive infographics about post-surgery breathing, wound care, and emotional recovery were released weekly, receiving thousands of impressions within days. These posts became a core part of the PneumoStrong educational library, bridging the gap between clinical knowledge and patient understanding.

August 2025 – Post Statistics

By August, campaign content had generated more than 5,000 likes, 100 shares, and nearly 5,000 profile visits across platforms. Analytics revealed that over 40 percent of engagement came from non-followers, showing that the campaign’s reach was extending far beyond its base community. The United States, United Kingdom, and Canada remained the top three countries engaging with PneumoStrong content.

September 2025 – Sustained Growth and Recognition

In September, PneumoStrong continued to grow steadily. A single cycle of content generated 8,732 views, with 80 percent of reach coming from posts and 16 percent from reels. The balance of followers to non-followers remained strong, with nearly half of all engagement from new audiences. Patients reported through messages and comments that the posts continued to give them courage before surgery and reassurance afterward. By this stage, PneumoStrong had become a recognizable name within online patient communities, blending research, storytelling, and advocacy into one trusted space.

October–November 2025 – New Stories and Platform Updates

During October and November, PneumoStrong received five additional patient story submissions from individuals eager to share their lived experiences and support others going through spontaneous pneumothorax. Although these stories were delayed in publication due to the campaign being operated by a single person, each submission was handled with care, accuracy, and respect. Behind the scenes, I worked to edit, verify, and prepare the stories so they could be shared responsibly and meaningfully.

At the same time, an updated version of PneumoStrong.org was launched. The new site introduced an expanded library of patient stories, improved navigation for newly diagnosed patients, and updated educational pages that reflect the most current evidence-based guidelines. This redesign was built entirely in-house and focused on accessibility, clarity, and reducing patient anxiety by putting trustworthy information in one place.