From days spent whitewater rafting through mountainous rivers and evenings drinking the familiar ice cold sweet tea among the trees, Victoria native Lisa Henry Emery felt at home in West Virginia. But she found more than just a home, she found family too coal miners.

“It just felt like home with the accents and the sweet tea,” Emery said. “I fell in love with the population. These miners, they’re some of the most hardworking people.”

On June 3, the St. Joseph High School graduate (1995) and respiratory therapist at New River Health Association, Emery was selected to serve as the chair for the National Coalition of Black Lung And Respiratory Disease Clinics. She will serve in that capacity for the next two years.

“I’m honored to hold his position,” Emery said. “This clinic is dedicated to educating miners’ families, the public and lawmakers about black lung while also researching the disease.”

At 19, Emery left Texas and moved to Colorado. She traveled back and forth between Colorado and West Virginia depending on how the white water rafting season faired in either state. She eventually made a permanent home in Appalachia.

“I tried to move four times, but I was always drawn back to West Virginia,” Emery said. “God had a plan.”

In the Appalachian Mountains is where she felt called to serve and said it was her moral obligation to care for coal miners.

“Its a fight for these people, they work so hard and they feel no one is on their side,” Emery said. “They work all the time, sometimes only getting one day off and they drive miles to finally see a doctor about their declining health.”

Emery became a respiratory therapist after witnessing the testing her nephew underwent for cystic fibrosis, a genetic respiratory issue.

“I’m crazy passionate about my job and this is why I was put on this Earth,” Emery said. “Some people do this job for the money, some do it because they want to make people’s lives better.”

In West Virginia and across the country, black lung disease is on the rise at an alarming rate. Black lung is a respiratory illness caused by long-term inhalation of coal dust, and it’s predominately seen in coal miners.

The primary cause of black lung disease is a prolonged exposure to coal dust, typically found in mining environments. Emery said that mining operations are cutting through more rock layers that contain higher amounts of silica to reach deeper coal seams. This leads to increased silica dust generated.

The severity of black lung disease depends on the amount and duration of dust exposure.

“We’re seeing younger and sicker patients now,” Emery said. “This isn’t your pawpaw’s disease anymore; this is your husband’s and your brother’s disease.”

For her patients, Emery acts as a healthcare provider, an educator, a therapist and a lawyer, advising them on insurance claims and making sure their voices are heard.

“My heart breaks for them,” Emery said. “I treat all of them like my family, and it’s a pleasure to be able to serve them.”

The National Coalition of Black Lung And Respiratory Disease Clinics came to fruition in 1984 and receives federal funding to research the disease, educate lawmakers and advocate for coal miners.

“We want to do right by them,” Emery said. “They need all the help they can get.”

Back home in Victoria, her father, James Henry, said he is proud of his daughter not only for her new position in the coalition but also her compassion for others.

“She takes a personal interest in her patients’ lives, and she’s trying to improve their health, lengthen their lives and take care of their wellbeing.” Henry said.

Madison O’Hara is a news reporter for the Victoria Advocate. You can reach her at madison.ohara@victoriaadvocate.com.