My mother Jan. 2005 was med-flighted in resp. failure and was later diagnosed with COPD. It has been a long struggle this couple years with her being rushed to the hospital because she has either stopped breathing at home or in a store and has been vented so many times that this last time she almost didn't make it and ended up having to have a trach. It is not easy caring for a loved one with COPD but I wouldn't want my mother at 57 years old that she is in a nursing home so I do my best in caring for her and working 5-6 hours a day to have a little income coming into the house besides her disability checks. I love my job because it allows me to call and check up on mom and make sure she is doing okay and not short of breath. My main concern is her getting short of breath while I am not home and coming home and her not okay when I get home as its been in March when I had a feeling she wasn't well and called to ask her and all she could say is HELP. I was just thankful I was able to get the paramedics to her in time before I got to her so she could get helped and get bagged to the hospital and sent to a bigger hospital as the hospital where I live is not as advanced to care for someone with such needs. It is completely normal to feel you need your space for a while because of your loved one needing your assistance more then you could provide at times but they also would like to do on there own and im sure feel a burden at times. My mom keeps saying she thinks she is getting better and well enough to go back to work but I am afraid to let her. She has been a RNBSN for 24 years. COPD is a very sad disease and it is very difficult to watch a loved one (parent) to suffer from it. I don't know what I would do without my mother as I am only 24 years old and have lost my father when I was 8 years old and am the only child. I fear being alone and without my mom in my life. I find it hard to find a doctor that is not afraid to take care of my mom and be her "DOCTOR" because of how advanced her COPD is. This health care system is not fair at all.

Cecila, You are so young to have so much to deal with. I totaly understand what you are going through. Finding the right lung doctor is the most important thing that you can do for her. Sounds like she need to be on O2 oxigen and a rescue inhaler. You also need to talk to her doctors about home health coming in while you are not there. Also ask her doc to order her a hospital bed. This is important because if she can elevate her head,chest and feet while she is tring to sleep this will help her get more rest. Watch out for swelling, green sputum, and is she coughing anything up at all. You really need to get help. I am my moms fulltime care taker and it is very stressfull. It's hard to watch someone you love go through this disease. if she smokes try to get her to at least cut down. You have found this site, and everyone here is very supportive. We all know about the stress and depression that goes along with this. There are several web site address through out the disscussions that will help you better understand what is going on. Be sure to go to the doctors with her and ask them to explain what you don't understand. Make a journal of what is happeing between each visit so you won't forget what you want to talk to the doctor about. Yes, I do understand how hard the insurance companies are to deal with. But the doctors can be a big help in dealing with the polotics of it all. You and your mother will be in my prayers. God Bless you and guide you through this difficult time. Rain

Yes she does cough stuff up.. she will tell me when it turns colors and usually when it does we get her in to the dr. to get an antibiotic before it gets too bad so she don't get sick. Sleep with tons of pillows does help her sleep better and even sometimes we often will sleep in the living room on the couches and pile the pillows against the arm of the couch. In April we had home health and physical therapists come out 3 times a week and teach us techniques like taking a shower on a shower chair for only 7 minutes and to wear her oxygen while in the shower and to set and stir her cake mixes or peel or potatoes or whatever and to have me do the other things that get her winded so that she also feels like she is doing something. Right now she has a sore throat and body aches but I think its just a genuine cold because she is getting better her flim is getting clearer with her antibiotics shes takin and her prednisone is helping a whole lot also. I try my best to care for her and get my time with friends in but I often have my friends over for dinner or just to watch tv with us. This last week she really enjoyed it cause she discovered that riding the electric wheel chair in walmart was not so bad and that getting out for an hour or so made her feel great! She just didnt like the lighting in the store during the day it seemed too bright for her but she did real well.... she walked up and down the side walk a bit yesterday more then she thought she could do. OMG talk about swelling.. some dr's just dont know what they are doing.. I took mom at the end of November 2008 to the ER cause her knee and foot would swell up and I always thought that was your heart so since I wasnt so sure and I wanted it all cleared up we went in and the DR did some ultra sounds of her leg and it come up fine so he said. In December she got short of breath and I always have takin it serious and got her help and when she got in they admited her and she started to feel better and took a shower and then she said I cant breath Im goin to stop breathing and ran to the bed and stoped breathing and was vented for 11 hours. The next tests they did came out to be a blood clot which we think came from her knee and went to her lungs. Smoking is our BIG problem we are going through right now.... we talked the other day and she wants to stop smoking but its not as easy as alot of people think especially if you have been smoking since your early teenage years and your 57 thats a long time of smoking. We will see how well it goes. I would be happy just to see her cut down how many she smokes in a day. How is your mom doing right now?

Ceclia, My mom currently has pnemonia. It's very common this time of year with COPD patients. Like I said earlier, you need a really good lung doctor. NOT a MD. They can only do so much. A specialist is more likely to spot problems early on in order to prevent other complications. The swelling you speak of is also common place. Alot of continued use of steriods can cause the swelling as well as congestive heart failuer. Again you need the right doctor to diagnos this conditions.This blood clot you mentioned needs to be monitored very closely. There are medications to disolve blood clots. You need to check into that. Ask your moms MD to refer her to a specialist ASAP. This will help a great deal with her condition. It is hard to get the right doctors but, what ever you do Don't give up. Look for resources everywhere. There are alot of support groups. A social worker can help you find these. Call your local chapter on Ageing and disability (often found at the foodstamp/welfare office. If all else fails call ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES for help. They are not like CPS(child protetive services). They can actually help you with alot of very valuable services. I live in TX and we have a number that we can call to find information on different groups/organizations that can help out. Our number is 211. We use this for many types of information, such as legal advice, medical situations, help with getting expensive meds that insurance won't cover and so on. Back up and start on page one of this converstion, you will find that there is alot of help and web sites that will help you uInderstand more of what your mom is going through. If she is on medicare ask her md about getting her a scooter. This will allow her to be more social and get more fresh air. If she doesn't already have portable oxegen ask for it. I have learned so much over the years, The first thing I learned was how to be my moms advocate. If her o2 levels are low, her brain cannot proccess normaly. That's were I come in.I ask the doc to explain in everyday english not the latin they are taught in school.I also let them no that I don't have a hight school education, much less a college degree. This works out really well when we are dealing with a new doctor. I hope you find this useful. God Bless you and your mom. It's good that you involve her in your social activities, but, she does need to have her own friends her own age. Check out the senior ceneter, They usually offer activites that your mom might enjoy. Gives you a break and gives her a chance to make her own freinds. Keep her moveing and social. This will also help with her smoking because we are not allowed to smoke in most places now days. So the busier she is the less she wants to light up. I am also a 30 plus year smoker. Mom and I have cut down drasticly over the last few years, but we do still smoke. You can also talk to her doctor about meds that will help her with the depression and cut down on her smoking.Wellbuteren is a good one for her to try as long as it does not conflict with her other meds. Good luck, your right quitting is not as easy as some people might think. It is as addiction just like any other drug. Wishing you Gods speed. Loraine

Mom does have a pulmonologist dr. appt. November 30th and then Jan. 1st her medicare goes into effect which will be so helpful. About 2 months ago I found out I work with someone mom used to hang out with and go clubing with etc. in the 80's so he comes over alot and visits with mom. Having someone come around now that she used to hang with back in the days is pretty neat. I can't get mom to go anywhere hardly but to walmart sometimes on my pay days so we cherish those days. I hope your mom gets over her pneumonia soon. Mom's cold is going away pretty quick with her antibiotic and steroid shes taking. Mom takes xanax for her panic attacks so that kinda gets the depression part and she takes coumadin for her blood clots and gets her blood drawn once a week and the results get sent to the MD as of right now... I am sure the lung dr. will want to monitor it too. But anyway we live in Oklahoma and had a front that came through the other day and wasnt very friendly with mom so I stayed home with her that day.

Celia, what part of OK do you live in? We lived in Muskogee for several years. That is where most of my friends live. I am glad that your mom is feeling better. It's great that you have a lung dr. I do know how hard it is to get mom out and about. Especialy when she does suffer panic attacks. My mom does to and we are both on xanex for this. It really doesn't work well for depression for us. You may want to talk to her doctor about this. If she was out going before she got sick, ask her what she enjoyed doing. My mom enjoys gardening (not easy she gets winded), camping (we use a condo now) fishing (when the weather is right) And I take her shopping just to get out of the house. She does go get the hair spray LOL changed on her own on Saturdays and Church on Sundays. Do you have a puter at home? Maybe she can find some of her old friends that way. Keeping her independent is very important. She is to young to be stuck at home all the time. Her medicare is a small blessing, start now to find the right insurance to go with it. I use Humana and thinking about changeing to Secure Horizons. Also you may want to check into Sooner Care for her. These will help pay that 20% that medicare does not pay. Check into part D, This helps with perscribtion cost. The other plans may pick up more of the cost. call medicare when she gets it and ask about additional help with the cost. Hope this helps you. Have a Blessed Day, Loraine

Mom used to like to garden but now she cant bend over or bend her neck down for long since she had the trach done.. its healed but not all the way inside im sure so she gets winded from where the scar tissue is inside. Even if Medicare pays 80% of her dr visits and her medicines which she has spoke to someone about it will save alot compaired to what we spend now! Ive talked to a store that works with the dr's and medicare to get an electric wheel chair and a friend of mine is going to get us a van that we can have a lift put in so if she wants to go shoping she can use her own chair to shop in and we wont have to worry bout her getting her hands on a dirty one where other sick people have sat and put there hands on the handles and all of it.... it sounds weird but things like that have alota germs on them. We live in the OKC/Edmond area. I like it cause im closer to my aunt and uncle and tons of cousins now then I was when we used to live on our farm in Seiling. I will def. keep the 2 insurance companies in mind that you mentioned. I will set down and talk with mom and call medicare up myself next month... today mom had a good day she baked a chicken, biscuits, and baked potatoes and of course she had to have her favorite green veggie PEAS. It was a great meal. Nothing like your mothers cookin.. mmmmm well hope you had a good day yourself. We are goin to turn the lights out early and watch tv.

I;m 57 and i have Copd. it kinda sucks but thats the way it is. I quit smoking but maybe to late. i didn't know that copd was as bad as it is

I am 73 and I have copd due to my smoking for 40 years (yes, I am a dummy but I'll get over it..lol). I have all the classic symptoms, shortness of breath, etc. I have had to learn to get used to it and adjust my lifestyle accordingly. I can no longer play golf. I mow my lawn with a self-propelled lawn mower. I have a large back yard with 5 4X8' raised beds and 1 4X32' raised bed. I really enjoy the vegtable gardening but I can only work for a little while and then I must rest. Good luck on your copd.

my mom is 57 and i have tried to get her to stop smoking so many times but its not easy at all... she has cut down alot. moms copd can be pretty bad at times. mom has her days when she does real good and days when she cant do anything at all and then theres been days where she has stoped breathing and luckly ive been home and gotten her help in time to save her. good luck with your copd and be sure to keep a dr to keep you in check and dont run out of your medicines you need to breath.

to beable to mow the lawn must be nice mom would not beable to do anything like that but she wishes she could as she has been an RNBSN for 25 years and would love to be working like a year ago. keep doing what you can do it is good for your lungs. i think i am going to get bubbles and set down with mom in the evenings before i go to work and blow bubbles with her as it is a good exercise i hear for lungs and her lungs are pretty bad off.

my father-in-law has a form of copd. he was really bad they told him he had 3 years to live that was january of 06. left lung was completely gone. the right lung had only about 80% left. to make a long story short. we took him to loyola hospital in maywood, il (just outside of chicago). they are the best! needless to say he got a lung transplant. one year ago. 10-15-08. they were only able to give him a left lung (which was the good lung). it's a lot of hard work. but when you love someone, you will truely do anything for them. he's 73 years old. up until december of 2007 he was still working 2 jobs. now he's on disability.

This is a wonderful success story for you. I pray that you have many more wonderful years together.

Celia I am so very glad that your mom had such a wonderful day! And it sounds like you are getting alot of help from friends and family. You might even think about the Sooner care program to help with her other needs. I know exactly what you mean about the germs, We keep germx and antibacteral wipes with us all the time. Seems now days you can't be to careful with these nasty little germs. Good luck with everything you need