Karen Hoyt

When mom began to choke more easily after her diagnosis with lung inflammation, I was concerned. For one thing, she was alone at home a lot. Sometimes it took her...

I was living out of state when mom called. She had not been diagnosed with COPD yet but was having chronic health problems. Wow! Another round of antibiotics for her...

Do you enjoy a glass of wine with COPD? When mom was diagnosed with pulmonary disease, her first goal was to reduce the inflammation in her lungs and then make...

The benefits of singing with COPD are available to everyone. If you don’t believe me, you never met my mom. She played the organ at our neighborhood church, and always...

There are so many tools to help us with COPD, and some of the best resources are right on your phone or mobile device. I personally downloaded and played with...

Sometimes when a person is sick, we find it easy to show love and compassion. Other times, trying to understand what a person is going through with their health issues...

The cost of medications and inhalers for COPD can be steep if you are on a limited income. I was Mom’s caregiver before Medicare kicked in to help pay for...

When you have lung and breathing problems with COPD, sometimes getting enough of the right vitamins and minerals is a problem. One mineral that is especially crucial is magnesium. You...

In this video, I discuss what the benefits of pursed mouth breathing are. If you have been breathing shallow breaths, or panting, it could prevent you from getting the oxygen...

The three part breath exercise helps build spinal strength, core strength, and helps expand the diaphram. Learn an easy technique that helps you to push stale air out of your...

Now you will know the best posture for pursed mouth breathing. It aids in expanding your chest and developing core strength. We start off by noticing your natural breath pace...

Getting through the holiday family times without stress or anxiety was practically impossible after the diagnosis of COPD. There came a time when we had to let go of the...

Three C's that can help you cope with COPD are connection, communication, and courage. It's important to stay connected with every person on your medical team including your primary care...

Poor mama. Getting through the stages of grief with COPD was hard on her. She had such an infectious laugh. Her heart was so full that it seemed like her...

Most of us know about children who care for aging parents, and how we switch roles later in life. In our case, reversing roles with COPD came early. It was...

I can’t tell you how many times my mom cried out those words. The problem was, she was only saying them to me – in private – because it was...

Learning how to use pursed mouth breathing was something mom and I did together. Over time, it became a very valuable tool to help her increase her lung capacity, get...

Watching out for humidity wasn’t one of the things we though about when mom was first diagnosed with chronic lung disease. As time went on, we came to understand that...

After leaving the doctor’s office the day mom was officially diagnosed, we kind of made a “not so official” pact: She asked me not to talk to my siblings about...

Mom liked to feel like she had things under control. With COPD, she did her best to keep her environment where the air was safe and easy to breathe. Some...