Carol Kirker

It has been seven years since my respiratory failure and two-month hospital stay. I was discussing that time in my life with a friend the other day. I forget how...

I have mentioned several times that I have a great deal of anxiety about going out without my husband. If I get very short of breath or there is an...

“Give yourself time to catch up. Be gentle with yourself. Listen to your needs. Let yourself adapt to the changes that are right for you.” Melody Beattie (Journey to the...

It has taken me a very long time to find my comfort level living with COPD. I am still working on some issues that give me a great deal of...

I’m sure most of us are familiar with the term "invisible illness." This is a term for medical conditions that are not physically obvious but are life-changing. They can range...

Understanding COPD cannot be done unless you live it. That is really true of any illness. True understanding comes from experiencing daily life with the symptoms, particularly the worst days...

COPD comes with many symptoms, not just shortness of breath. It took some time to figure this out, learn which ones affect me, and how to manage them. I feel...

We are always talking about triggers. I’ve spent hours in discussion about what sets off my COPD symptoms, what I am sensitive to, and what I should avoid. We discuss...

I'm writing this at the end of February. I always think of this as the beginning of the end of winter. Spring is truly in sight and I am doing...

Everyone experiences jealousy or envy at some point in their lives. It may have been during childhood, envious of a playmate with better toys. Along comes high school, clothes, sports...

I’m sure we have all seen the saying, “I have COPD, COPD does not have me.” Another common one is, “I am not defined by my illness.” I think about...

I have always had a love of cooking. Collecting cookbooks and recipes, particularly from the colonial era, was a hobby. Weekend mornings were a time for watching cooking shows even...

Going from a very active social life to a stay-at-home, I can’t breathe kind of life is the start of a lonely existence. I don’t mean loneliness from social contact...

I am a big fan of Alice in Wonderland and all the great quotes that come from the story. Many seem like nonsense until you really reflect upon them. As...

Along with COPD, I have several other diseases, one of which is hypothyroidism. This is more commonly known as an underactive thyroid. I also have Type 2 Diabetes and high...

As I climbed into bed for the night, I thought back on my day. Where does the time go? I woke up this morning feeling good. Once I realized it...

For those that have dealt with COPD for a while, we are quite familiar with the common terminology used. For patients that are newly diagnosed, these words can be quite...

If you are familiar with the above-titled song by Peggy Lee from 1969, then you know it provided a topic for many debates. Is the song about being disillusioned or...

When many people hear the word meditation, they think of some new age mumbo jumbo. It is immediately dismissed, never realizing the good that can come from it. Then there...

Dear Journal, Here we are at the end of another year. It has been a strange year for most, great sadness because of so many lives lost with Covid, and...