Living

Learning the dos and don’ts often takes time when diagnosed with a chronic disease. The same is true of COPD. So, I thought it would be neat to post the...

I should have asked a doctor about what was going on with my lungs much sooner. If I knew how bad it could become, I would have done something about...

Excite, excited, exciting. Those are rare words for me. Christmas is two and a half months away, and I’m going to do gifts this year, even homemade. I haven’t been...

We are all curious about the stages and ages of our progressive disease. We tend to carry a torch about it, bragging from the hilltops about what we can still...

Editor's note: This article contains references to death and other sensitive topics that may be upsetting to some readers. When a person is nearing the end of their lives, whether...

While it is not as common today as in the past, some people with COPD may develop polycythemia. So, what is polycythemia? Why do some people with COPD develop it?...

Sleeping is never easy when you have COPD. In the early stages of COPD, I developed a nagging cough that intensified when I lay down to sleep. Laying down exacerbates...

COPD is an acronym for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with four stages. Here is a list of helpful suggestions that you or someone else could do to be of help:...

I am not happy that I panicked about taking a bath. I wrote part 1 of this story, which you can read here. My favorite thing is enjoying a hot...

COPD is a disease that impacts your airways and alveoli. In an earlier post I talked alveoli and the role they play in COPD. Today I’d like to begin the...

You likely know that COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, an umbrella term that covers emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and the genetic form of COPD, Alpha-1 (Antitrypsin Deficiency). So, what...

My life can easily be broken down by decades. Looking back, I find that each decade was spent with different people, doing different things as they interested me at the...

COPD makes breathing difficult, and bending over can affect our breathing as it might not let our lungs expand to their total capacity. This can make daily tasks very difficult...

Too often, we may barter for more time when coping with a chronic illness. We might not see it as bartering. Maybe we are just hoping and planning. I remember...

Looking out the window, I noticed smoke billowing from a house half a block behind ours. My husband saw it just before I did. Strangely, I didn’t smell smoke. I...

Part one of this story can be found here. In part one, I talked about our annual family picnic. There was a laundry list of stuff to planning a day...

Before my diagnosis, the thing I loved to do most was take a hot bath. After the kids were in bed and the house was quiet, I would light my...

Should I stay home or should I go? How often do we ask ourselves this when invited to go somewhere? I’m sure it’s too many to count. My cousin Rhonda...

It has been a dark lonely three years. The pandemic happened so fast and lasted so long, it has been years since my extended family and I have been together...

How amazing are our caregivers? I think about this often. There are so many things that my husband does for me. I ask for some help, and most are the...