Living with COPD

My Mom(Eleanor), was diagnosed with COPD when she was approximately 50 years old. She was a smoker for 30 years. She would get pnemonia every year sometimes twice a year or more. Prednisone is a double edged sword. She couldn’t live without however it would reak havoc on her natural immune system which is why she was always so susceptible to any kind of cold.

She quit smoking when she was rushed to the ER and was given oxygen. The ER doc said that if she didn’t quit she would soon require the o2 all the time. She was 50 years old. My mother quit immediately never to smoke ever again but the damage was already done. She lived quite normally for the next 15 years until she was 65 years old at which point she had to quit her job and become almost oxygen dependant.

It was very hard for her as she was an extremely active woman and liked to go places and do things. She had a multitude of friends and they all made her feel very comfortable when she was on her oxygen however she would still get depressed. I always lived with Mom, if she were still here I would still be living with her. I was her only daughter out of 5 children and I am the youngest. We were the best of friends and she is my idol. There is nothing more sad than watching your parent struggle to breathe. It all really started to go down hill the last couple of years of her life.

She had another breathing episode which led to intubation. That was so sad to see her in that state. She managed to get of the tube after a few weeks and then she required a month of rehab. She bounced back as good as she could have. She was on O2 24 hrs. a day. She still went food shopping and took trips. We used to refer to her Oxygen as walking her dog as she always had the nose hose(as we referred to it) and then the little cylinder. We would joke with her about it as well. If she got upset with us about something we would get her O2 house and pretend to kink it. She would laugh and forget about why she was upset to begin with.

She was a great sport. I never really admitted to myself how bad she really was as I couldn’t bare the thought of losing her. It became extremely evident that she was spraling downhill at a very fast pace when she needed to be intubated again after another er visit. I was there every time she requied an Er visit ..in fact I would drive her. That was scarey in itself. Lucky enough for me and Mom I was laid off from work the last year of her life which enabled me to be with her constantly. I was also pregnant with my first child during that time as well. Mom was extremely excited about the pending arrival of her 4th grandson but 5th grandchild. She always preferred boys as she said they were easier. I made sure she went to the ultrasound appointment so she could see him at the very beginning stages. Unfortunately Mom passed away 2 weeks before his arrival. Mom left us June 1st 2006 at 70 years of age and Adam was born on the 19th…which was the day my Mom predicted.

I guess I am sharing this because it’s important to support any person that is critically ill. You must make the time to spend time with them and keep their spirits up so as to keep depression at bay. COPD is a very serious illness and very difficult to watch it’s progression. Unfortunately I received a call from my Cousin last night informing me that my mothers only sister was hospitalized and put on oxygen because of the same disease. We are a very close family and I will be visiting Auntie Ruth more frequently(she lives out of state). Please pray for everyone out there that may be suffering from such debilitating diseases such as COPD.