Jeff Collings

I was born and raised in a small Canadian town with two brothers on a dead-end street with a cornfield and abandoned gravel pit behind the house. Dad thought to keep the boys busy and out of trouble was to sign us up for every sport going. So I never lost my drive for always moving and keeping busy. My first job was bagging groceries and I never strayed very far from the retail industry. Ended up becoming a butcher, grocery manager, and store manager and bounced around from challenge to challenge.

I smoked my first cigarette at the ripe old age of 13 with some friends and got that funny feeling or head rush. Funny how we all remember when we started, but don't know the date we got hooked. I always thought I had a small case of asthma over the years as my breathing would feel heavy at times and then clear up. I was the captain of my junior hockey team and soccer team and worked 2 jobs most of my life, so exercise was never an issue. Married with 3 wonderful children and would go outside to smoke at home. Then as my body aged and started rebelling and I eased up my physical activity my breathing issues were back. A little worse every year, did I quit smoking?

(HE$$ NO) I just kept shedding things I couldn't do any longer one by one. Thought things would get better someday just like they always had. Then one day in July 2015 they were so bad I could barely walk into work from the car and was breathless!!! Went home and called my doctor and went for the breathing test at the hospital, END Stage COPD! I had to come home and google what that was. Now 3 puffers, pills, and 24/7 oxygen is my life! So I had a massive pity party, cried, moped, and laid on the couch for 6 months. My life changed the day I went for a 6-minute walk test and I haven't looked back.....

That's enough for today, "Breath Free my friends"

Click here to read all of Jeff's articles on COPD.net.