FIRST DAY OF SPRING 2014

Well today is the first day of Spring.  It is windy, raining and not a good day to be outside if you want to stay dry.  Some parts of New Brunswick are getting snow. But I am glad that for us it is rain.  I am really looking forward to warmer weather and being able to enjoy the outside.

In my last blog post I mentioned that I had to have a chest X-Ray and ECG. Well I had them and wasn't  overly pleased with the results.  The chest X-Ray report came back that my lungs were like those  of a person who had smoked considerably over their lifetime.

That was a shocker for me, I as a teenager tried cigarettes and didn't like them. I loved the smell of a pipe and I tried that for a couple of weeks and didn't like that either. 

I have been diagnosed with COPD.  How I got it I do not know as it wasn't from smoking and I did not work in an environment with fumes or even second hand smoke.  Reading about the disease on the internet, I did find out that it is possible to get COPD from Acid Reflux (GERD) which I also have.

At this point it doesn't matter how I got it, but what can we do to slow it down so I can enjoy life as much as it is possible. I believe I have had it for some time.  When I was going to my family doctor before he passed away I kept telling him how short of breath I was.  He passed it off as being over weight.  I believed him and struggled with it. 

On April 14th I go to Yarmouth for a CT Chest Scan and the next day for a breathing test.  The breathing test and scan will tell how serious the disease is and what medications I need to take. I also in June will be doing a sleep study.

The medication I am on now has helped my breathing somewhat.  But my activity level has fallen sharply.  I am finding by night time I am done in.  Has anyone come to the point where they are tired of breathing?  As of yet I do not have the cough, just difficulty in breathing.  I now understand more fully what my mother-in-law went through with her breathing problems.

I don't want to give up the church, but I may not have a choice. I am waiting to see how I am in month's time and go from there. With the right medication I may be able to stay on for awhile.

Valerie is my chauffeur and I enjoy that.  However, I like being independent and I find it hard to allow someone else to do things for me.  Any way we will get through this.

Other than that life is fairly quiet.  Hopefully in my next post to the blog it will be less about me and about something that is more interesting.  May God bless you all!