MY COPD CAUSES ARE MANY

From birth til teens several reasons why I have COPD.

The reasons

• #1 only one smoker lived in my home, my dad, who was a heavy smoker
• #2 even worse heated and cooked with a coal stove it was burning coal every day
• #3 when I got older my hobbies introduced me to chemicals used to strip and restore furniture (no mask used)
• #4 accidentally combined ammonia and bleach causing a large fume which I inhaled
• #5 as a teen I began to experiment with cigarettes became a full-time light smoker by the time I reached my mid 20's.

Diagnosis and learning to live

After a severe lung infection was diagnosed with COPD, had several very serious flare-ups including carbon dioxide poisoning which was almost fatal. Taking prescribed maintenance inhalers now for 7 years which is helping me. They cannot give me back what I've lost had to learn new ways to live. Simple things like a flight of stairs is difficult, carrying my infant grandchild not easy, my eating habits had to change........I could go on, and on........ learning how to live with COPD am now doing some of the activities I used to do just in a different.