COPD - Seeing is Believing

My partner's grandmother is currently in the hospital in ICU. She caught pneumonia and was admitted to the hospital about a week ago. She was diagnosed with COPD last year, which I did not know until recently.

COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a lung disease in which the lungs are damaged, making it hard to breathe. With COPD, the airways are partly obstructed, making it difficult to get air in and out.

Cigarettes are the common cause of this disease. And of course, she smokes. Even after she was diagnosed last year, the doctor told her she had to quit smoking and use the oxygen machine and inhalers. No ifs ands or buts, but of course, being how stubborn she is she didn't do any of the above. She continued smoking and more than likely smoked about a pack a day if not a little more or less.

In healthy people, the airways are clear and open. The air sacs are small and dainty and both are elastic and springy. When you breathe in the air sac fills up with air like a small balloon and then when you exhale the balloon deflates and the air goes out.

With COPD, the airways branch out like a tree upside down and at the end of the branches are many little balloon-like air sacs, the airways and air sacs lose their shape and become floppy.

Less air goes in and out because the air sacs lose their elasticity, the walls between the air sacs are destroyed and the airway walls become thick and inflamed. Cells in the airways make more mucus than usual tending to clog the airways.

The whole family knew she was getting worse, but for some reason nobody would take those cigarettes away from her. Maybe they were afraid of her; she is a pretty hard headed and strong woman. She knew what was going to happen if she didn't quit and she continued and even now as she's in the hospital bed, there are moments where she just wants to go and moments where she won't give up.

I went in to see her before we left the city to go home and I really wish I wouldn't have. Before she was in there, she always had her hair done and her eyes were livelier. This time she had on an oxygen mask and her hair was straight and her eyes so sad and tired. She had IV's all in her arm and both her arms were bruised up. Her feet were so swollen they looked like they could pop. They put these bands around her legs that tightened periodically to keep her blood circulating and they did really good until she made them take them off her.

This disease develops slowly and you may not notice symptoms right away. This is usually diagnosed in the middle age to older people.

It is a major cause of illness and death and also the fourth leading cause of death in the US as well as throughout the world. Unfortunately there is no cure for this disease. You cannot reverse the damage already done to your lungs but you can slow it down and feel better.

The best way to prevent yourself from getting this disease or slowing it down is to quit smoking. Your doctor will recommend the right treatments depending on your condition whether it is mild, moderate or severe.

Signs and symptoms of COPD include but not limited to: a cough, mucus production, wheezing, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Coughing up a lot of mucus and a cough that doesn't go away are common signs of COPD. These usually occur long before the flow of air ways to the lungs are reduced, however, not everyone with a cough and a lot of mucus develops COPD and people with the disease do not always have a cough.

If you know someone that has this disease, please do all you can to help them slow the process. You never know how much time they have left and you want to spend as much time as you can with them and of all things; learn from it!