What is it like to live with COPD

As he said Nicole Audrey Spector

One day in 2023, I went for a walk. Just a simple walk. Without Biggie. When I came home, coughing. I was terrified to have Covid. My terrorism was largely rooted in the fact that I have a scleroderma. I was diagnosed in 2001 at the age of 19. Living with chronic autoimmune disease like Scleroderma makes you high risk. Covid, I knew, could kill me.

That night, I fell asleep out in the warm summer air. Along with the cough, I had difficulty breathing and felt like I was drowned, but the fresh, gentle air helped me breathe better.

The next day, my symptoms were just as bad. My husband was worried that she got worse and I should go to a ventilator. So I went to the hospital.

I tried negatively for Covid, but I was immediately assumed and underwent pulmonary test, an echocardiogram and blood tests. All this revealed that I had only two heart attacks. Health -care providers (HCPs) ended up, caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). I knew I had a median lung disease – inflammation and scars of pulmonary tissue – caused by scleroderma. I lived with it for about a year. But COPD was a completely new diagnosis.

What had happened, Hcps said, is that COPD – caused by scleroderma – had caused an inflammation of scleroderma, which then triggered the arteries of my heart to block myself. In addition, my throat was closed. I could not swallow. Not even a pill.

I was in the hospital for six weeks. The stents were placed in my heart to open arteries. I underwent the throat that extends to broaden my esophagus. I was also given respiratory treatments and medicines to manage COPD symptoms.

One of the best things I did while in the hospital was my phone my good friend, another survivor Scleroderma, every day. I called her when the HCPs came to make their rounds. I put her on the speaker to hear everything. I do not feel super sure of my ability to understand medical terminology, especially when I am the subject of all speeches. This dear friend would hear what my HCPs were saying, and then, as soon as they leave, they all break for me in a way that didn’t feel confused. It was my personal patient lawyer and I recommend that everyone feels shocked while navigating a disease has someone like her on board.

My husband and my child, 12 at that time, were so worried that I would die. I was also scared. I had already gone so much with Scleroderma, including multiple amputations. Many people who have endured as much damage from this disease as they do not live much longer.

But honestly, when I went through this COPD crisis, I was almost more anxious than scared. My life is incredibly busy. I am a mom, I run a company, I work as a mentor and dip in years of work to defend the disease. I often travel and always juggling a million different things. Having to move away from my many works to deal with all of this, they really put me back and made me feel like I left everyone.

As soon as I got home from the hospital, I didn’t really know what my future would look like or how life would change now that I lived with COPD, which, like scleroderma, has no cure. But I got it hanging all fast enough. (Fortunately, my symptoms are under control with respiratory treatments and medicines.) I began to research to better understand the disease and how to live better with it. Now, I am a passionate supporter for people who live with COPD and do a huge work in the COPD community.

Today, I’m as busy as ever, but my diseases get tax on my body. It starts to look like I will not be able to travel almost as used to, if not at all. I’m not excited about it, but I’m also not angry. My work on defense makes me part of something much greater than myself. I feel that it is what I wanted to do. I have watched so many friends – some in much better physical condition than me. I don’t get a time of time here for granted.

Yes, I’m sick – like everyone else lives with COPD. But being sick does not mean you have to be sad. And it doesn’t mean you have to be alone. Absolutely not. One major problem I see in the COPD community is people who have not reached it for support. I see too many people disappear in the disease. I hope we see more of us open our minds and eyes to see that there are whole organizations dedicated to helping people with COPD. So many resources are just a google search away.

We are all stronger than we believe we are, and this is probably the most true to women. We can pass almost anything if we accept it. If you live with COPD – or any chronic illness – I welcome you not to see it as a death penalty, but as a new journey. And there are so many of us here to walk this trip with you.

This educational resource was created In collaboration with the HOPO Foundation and With support from Glaxosmithkline, Regeneron and Sanofi.

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