Labor Day Weekend

For many of us with COPD, here in the Northeast United States, this past summer was one of the more difficult ones in recent years - if not the most!

It seems like there were days and weeks and months of temperatures in the 90’s and humidity of 70-80-90% every day.

If the humidity was any higher, it should have been raining!

The summer heat was brutal

June 2019 was the hottest June since weather records have been kept.

“Nine of the 10 hottest Junes have occurred since 2010. In fact, last month was the 43rd consecutive June that rose above averages of the past,” according to CNN.¹

July 2019 was the hottest July recorded in history.

“We have always lived through hot summers. But this is not the summer of our youth. This is not your grandfather’s summer,” U.N. Secretary General António Guterres told reporters.²

There are arguments for those who believe in the existence of global warming and disputes with those who don’t.

May of our elected officials believe global warming to be a fact while others, including the President, argue against it.

If you have breathing issues, heat can be rough

In any event, the heat makes life miserable for anyone with a breathing issue.

If you had told me 20 years ago I one day would say, “I can’t wait for the summer to be over,” I would have said, “You’re nuts.”

I loved the beach; I loved the ocean and swimming and long walks in the sand along the shoreline. Still do.

But then, struggling to walk down a sandy beach with little breeze and realizing it’s not going to be possible to just dive into the pounding surf to get some relief when I got to it, changed all that.

Now – don’t get me wrong – if the elements are just right and the stars align themselves in a particular way, I could sit on the boardwalk, watch the waves and just listen to the waves crashing all night long.

But there didn’t seem to be any refreshing breezes this summer and I found it better to spend a number of days somewhere – anywhere – where there was air-conditioning.

It wasn’t just those of us with COPD who felt this way.

My wife often came home and sat as close to the window air-conditioner as she could (and I did), and she grew up in Puerto-Rico!

But then, Labor Day weekend came along.

Attending weddings can be challenging

We had been invited to the wedding of my best friend’s daughter months ago. It was to be held in the old estate that belonged to Mark Twain, along the banks of the beautiful Hudson River near Tarrytown, New York.

There’s been a few weddings over the past years – some the children of friends; some relatives – that we “took a pass on” because of my condition. But I was determined to make it to Molly’s wedding.

I knew I could make it through the ceremony and maybe the cocktail hour (lol) without too much trouble. But I thought it was unwise to try to last 4-6 hours in a fairly crowded room with 100 to 200 guests.

This was my closest friend’s daughter – almost more important than family. We have known each other since 1959! I was determined to try to make it despite my breathing, despite the weather.

And I did.

My wife is patient. I think I may have mentioned that about a million times!

As the day approached, she could see I was almost panicking.

“If it’s too hot or you’re getting bad numbers, (oxygen saturation),” she said, “we won’t go. That’s all. They’ll understand.”

Maybe – but I wouldn’t. I’ve prided myself in fighting this stupid disease and usually, I can achieve at least a draw!

But you know what? I did better than that.

The temperature that day was 71 degrees and the humidity was 45%. I knew I was going to make it.

Good weather. Good friends. A supportive wife – I made it all the way through. For 6 hours I had the best time that I’ve had in a long, long time.

I hope to do it again soon.

I’m trying to bribe my daughter’s boyfriend into getting off his duff!