I didn't even know that this pulmonary program existed until my pulmonologist, Dr. Connolly, ordered this for treatment for me. He told me that I was going to see that there is life after COPD. In the two years prior to starting this program, I was either in the ER or was admitted into the hospital almost every month. I would always wait until I was very bad shape before going to the hospital because I didn't know how to recognize if I needed hospital treatment or if what I was experiencing was something that I could manage at home. At one point, I tried walking from my bed to my nebulizer machine and I didn't make it. I had an asthma attack and I passed out, ultimately ending up in the hospital again. I needed someone to help me because I had a lot of fear and anxiety. My condition got so bad that I had to quit working and ended up on disability. COPD became this nagging companion that I did not want around me. When I first started coming here,I came in dragging and visibly in respiratory distress. I needed a breathing treatment as soon as I walked from the lobby to the pulmonary rehab gym. The therapists here then informed me of what the program consisted of, including the education portion, and I thought to myself "What am i really going to learn here? As far as I'm concerned, breathing is breathing. How are they going to help me?" Well, I found out pretty quickly that I had a lot to learn about COPD. I learned physical exercises, breathing exercises with the Lung Boost breathing trainer, and weight training. I also learned about recognizing COPD symptoms and how to use the COPD action plan to determine what I need to do to resolve those symptoms. Prior to this, I had no standards to go by. The staff here is wonderful and Tanya, Ron, Morgan and Lanya are very wonderful and compassionate therapists. They truly care about me and they do an exceptional job of teaching. I can easily understand and retain the information that they present during each session. I have to give them an A+++++ Margaret M.
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