Living

I’m glad that I learned some do’s and don’ts of accepting help when living with COPD from my mom. One of the hardest things for many people is accepting help...

When I go out shopping, many times I use a mobility scooter. If I go to a small store I can get away with using my rollator walker. The large...

The term “self-care” has become quite a buzzword in recent times and I am a huge fan of it. Self-care is literally taking time to care for yourself. We live...

My first airline trip with oxygen was to the 2012 Alpha-1 National Conference. It was also my first flight in over 25 years. I loved to fly but I hadn’t...

June the 16th. I celebrated four years smoke-free and a new life living with COPD. If I had listened, would my COPD be less severe? Who knows, so dwelling on...

We were a family of smokers, except for my baby sis. After mom was diagnosed with COPD, all 4 of us kids told her to quit smoking. Her illness forced...

I used to thrive on living life with spontaneity. My work schedule was planned, but beyond that, I believed in letting life happen as it happened. A great deal of...

Sometimes it's so difficult to get into a routine and to do something positive. I have found that I love doing art, though at the moment I am at a...

When you are diagnosed with COPD, you will most likely want to make changes in your home environment. It is so important to eliminate anything that may be harmful to your...

My sister told me she saw someone with a portable oxygen tank and asked why I didn’t have one. Well, I wondered the same thing. It was around Christmas time, a...

Editor's note: This is part 2 of a 2-part series. Be sure to read part 1 as well! I hadn’t heard back from my doctor's office for 3 days. Finally...

Ever get to the point you get tired of seeing doctors and having to constantly get tested for one thing or another? If this describes you, you are not alone...

An Alpha-1 carrier is a person who has one normal Alpha-1 gene (M) and one defective Alpha-1 gene (usually Z or S) (but there are over 150 mutations). Being a...

The Person Before Patient Survey is now closed. Thank you for your interest! What makes us the people we are? Living with a serious health condition like COPD can mean...

About 3 weeks ago I went for a follow-up CT scan for my lungs. Yesterday after much anxiety and stress, I received the results. The anticipation was nerve-wracking, to say the...

We know that exercise is essential to our well-being. It makes sense that as we age and our day-to-day activities wind down, we need a more regimented exercise routine. For...

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...

Editor's note: This is part 1 of a 2-part series. Be sure to check out part 2 as well! I was so tired. I couldn’t stay awake. It was a...

Anxiety is your body's natural response to stress. It's a feeling of fear or apprehension about what's to come. They forgot to include your brain adding different stress-causing situations that...

Editor's note: This is part 1 of a two-part series. Be sure to check out part 2! Flying by the seat of your pants when you have COPD is dangerous...