Googling for COPD Finds an Old Letter
I wrote the following about 2004 for the American Lung Association and re-found it goggling for COPD. I’m posting it here in hope you will see the value in early detection Spirometry testing.
“Hungry for Air: Breathing Better Together
“Living with COPD/Emphysema and Sarcoidosis was a living death. I existed. I struggled to breathe, when I moved I panted, gasped for air like a fish out of water.
As I slowly showered and dressed, ready to go somewhere, I couldn’t sit down to rest. I fell asleep.
I went from a physically active life landscaping, restoring a wonderful property in Port Townsend to a blob who existed in front of her computer.
I searched the world web to discover what COPD/Emphysema was – what Sarcoidosis was, everything, anything I could find out about my diseases and the medications I took.
I couldn’t sleep in a bed – I couldn’t breathe – I dozed sitting in a chair.
By the time I arrived at the Pulmonary Department at the University of Washington Medical Center, I believed my days were numbered. Previously diagnosed with COPD/Emphysema, an open lung biopsy showed the fibrosis and granulomas of Sarcoidosis evenly throughout both lungs.
Without energy, I felt isolated, without a purpose, a shell, a mockery of the person I used to be.
I regretted a 40-year smoking habit, but didn’t dwell on it. The single most difficult thing I’ve ever done is stop smoking. I craved cigarettes and for the first time understood a drug addict’s ‘craving’ for a drug. I craved a cigarette many times a day, then almost daily for more than two years. Even today, occasionally the urge to smoke a cigarette becomes almost overwhelming.
That is how I felt then. Today I’m energized with purpose.
I found a support group online – the non-profit EFFORTS, begun by COPD’rs, run by COPD’rs and filled with folks like me working to change the world’s awareness of COPD. I want other lung folks to know they are not alone and how they can lead the best quality of life possible.
I want to see Spirometry tests for patients. common place among physicians – to catch COPD early – before it is too late. Other than stop smoking, the single most important thing Lungers can do for themselves is exercise.
And from the time I learned of the American Lung Association® of Washington’s Big Ride Across America, it is my dream – my goal.” – Sharon”
Part 2 of 4 More later… Sharon O’Hara
