call for help

[carmen868]

dear all:.

i have been on this forum for quite some time now. i suffer from copd/emphysema and was living ok with it for 5 years until i got pneumonia early this year and now i have to live with O2 almost 24/7. i have lost everything and have no family exceot a cruel uncle who placed me in a home for the aged buit thisis not like the ones you have in the US. its run by nuns who dont really undrstand my condition and think its a simple thing because of my youth - 54. i dont know how i got this disease because i hardly smoked in the past and i tested neg for alpha 1. i need an oxygen concentrator and have no money to buy one. i am losing hope each day, my finances are rfunning out and i cant go back to work unless i can breathe well - i am afraid of running out of money evn for oxygen, my uncl already said i could die because i wasnt really sik just acting up and he wont listen to my pulmonologist. i am appealing for anyone who could kindly extend me some financial help til i get back on my feet. i know this hsnt been done on this forum yet but i dont have anyone else to turn to here. i had an adipose derived stem cell treament but still no effect and im constantly in need of air. its getting hard for me to even eat. please help me. barbara can vouch for me i am not making this up. i dont have any other family and no one understands me or seems to care. i am sorry but here in the philippines there is no awareness of copd. it is a vey difficult thing to suffer. somebody please help me i am drowning....no joke. thank you for listening.

 

[barbara]

Carmen - I can vouch for your sincerity. What is the electric current requirements in the Philippines? Do you have local access to hoses and tubing or are you in need of them as well? A concentrator that plugs in is not portable. You are limited to a 57 foot maximum area to use it in. I just want to make sure that is what you are needing.

 

[carmen868]

concentrator

hi barbara - the electical current here is 220 v. i had a tv made in the US that was 110 and i needed a transformer for it. i dont know if you have 220 there. i just want to know why your concentrator is not the battery operated type. danny has one which he said his daughter bought for 3000 $ = i know they sell some here and some are made in china but i do not know if these are reliable. thank you for your quick response. i hope i am not imposing on anypne but at least you have families and supoort which i sadly do not have. it is just so hard for me to believe that such cruelty is possible in this world from one's own relatives. i should have gotten marriedd and had kids but my life was perfec and i was happy and independent and thisisthe last thing i expected. thank yu for your sympathy and always listening ear.

 

[Jeannine]

carmen

I am so sorry to hear of your plight. Why can't your pulmonary doctor do something to help you? Seems to me he could speak to these nuns on your behalf if you ask him.

 

[barbara]

Carmen - The concentrator that many of us use in our homes simply plugs into an electric outlet. I have 57 ft. of tubing that I can attach to it to get around my home. It is not portable however. If you want or need to go outside the home, then you would need either portable cylinders of oxygen or a battery operated unit that you could take with you. The unit that plugs in is much easier to use at home because of the 57 ft. of tubing. You don't have to carry or pull anything around, you simply go wherever you can get that is 57 ft. or less away from the unit.

I have sent a request to the Tim Tebow Foundation. They do work in the Philippines. I also think Jeannine's idea is good. Your pulmonologist needs to educate the nuns on your situation. Is there no charitable foundation, service group, religious organization, etc. that could help you? I don't pretend for a moment that I know anything about the Philippines, but if there are such groups, try to reach out to them if you can.

I put out some other feelers as well. Hopefully, someone else might read this and have some ideas as well. Living without supplemental oxygen when you need it, has got to be terrifying. Hang in there Carmen.