Great start to a Saturday
Bev - what a lovely way for me to start a Saturday by reading your very kind post. I am glad you purchased our book because it will help you travel the road ahead after your treatment. I do urge everyone that has treatment to remember that it takes time to regenerate your lungs. Jeannine and I have dubbed it Impatient Syndrome because of how impatient a person gets while they wait for small improvements. That's one reason we tell people to start keeping a journal before treatment. Mark down things like SOB all day. Took 2 hours to get ready to start the day. Coughed all night. Felt like a 300 pound weight was on my chest, gasped my way up the stairs, etc. This is true for all patients, not just COPD patients. If you start doing this ahead of time, then it will really inspire you to look back and see how much progress you really are making. I woke up one morning and realized I had slept the entire night on my back. I wasn't even thinking that I hadn't been able to do that for years, when all of a sudden it dawned on me that this was a major improvement. I wasn't even able to lie down at the hospital to receive my stem cell transplant. One more thank you I want to give and I know everyone else will too, is to the other people that make this forum successful. Larry has been doing a great job researching. Nassin is always helpful. Anastasia actually had enough time to quit waiting on Nelson to start a caregiver's category, Nelson himself is always there to lend a hand, Mary Jo has just had treatment and promises to learn to navigate the forum so she can report. Dolores had treatment yesterday and will report. Jan is always on the prowl for relevant information and is a gold star poster. Pat is online on other venues fighting the battle, Fran works behind the scenes and we have people that are with us everyday posting and adding information.Shazza, kygal, Anney, Zar, Rose and many more. Look at some of our frequent posters, including you Bev and I say three cheers for all of you. This forum is starting to get some very positive attention and that is what's needed to get the word out that no one needs to die from many so called terminal diseases.