REMEMBERING IT’S NOT JUST MY LUNGS!!

By Mr. William

“A person without good breathing, is a person with a life of constant caution, so let’s do what we can, to learn what we can, to improve what we can.” (Will Dursens)

            First thing first – REMEMBER THAT IT IS COPD AWARENESS MONTH!! I am hoping others are doing a better job than I have at keeping that front and center of any conversation and that we always remember that we need to continually push for better and more productive research.

            Now to my subject of the week – Juggling health issues and remembering that it is not just my lungs!

            Just this past week I had my six-month check in with my pulmonologist. While most of the conversation was good, he did at one point in reference to something I said made a reference I wasn’t really expecting.

            The statement he made went something like, “You know while we are trying our best to stay ahead of your severed asthma and COPD, one should remember you have a ticker problem as well – it’s called Myocardial infarction!”

            He reminded me that I have a section of my heart that is no longer working which means that sometimes I only have 45% proper pumping of the heart than the average of 65% or better.

            For those that may not be familiar with it, ‘myocardial infarction’ is a reference to tissue death (infarction) of the heart muscle (myocardium) brought on by a heart attack or some type of acute coronary syndrome that decreases or stops the blood flow to a part of the heart which then causes damage or death to part of the heart muscle. {from Wikipedia.com}

            Also, for those that don’t know or may not remember from previous writings, I literally died in an emergency room of a local hospital on November 27, 2012. As my original cardiologist always seemed to want to remind me – I had what they call a widow maker heart attack. If I had it anywhere but where I was, I would not be here today to share my stories.

            What my pulmonologist was really reminding of was the fact that I had three possible causes for any or all SOB’s (Short of Breath) – those being an exacerbation caused by my symptoms of COPD, an asthma attack brought on by some trigger I missed ahead of time, or maybe my heart is having issues pumping when I am doing anything even minutely strenuous.

            With that I realized I must remember and take better care of that number three health issue for which I struggle with at times.

            So, with that I have taken again on the challenge of being more careful about what I eat, how often I eat and how much I eat when I do. Those three things are as important as anything else they tell you about diets. Plus, I make it a point of drinking at least 84 – 120 ounces of water per day, and if at all possible, I have ruled out soda with the exception of an eight-ounce glass of occasional ginger ale to settle my stomach.

            As for other recent news I have shared, my younger brother who had the mild heart attack a couple of weeks ago – he is doing outstanding, getting well over 8,500 steps in a day while learning (not necessarily willingly) how to eat better and with much less sodium. I am proud of him as he has already lost 18 pounds, guess it helps to still have a great set of lungs and full use of his heart to rehab and walk with.

            With that I must not close out without reminding everyone that this is COPD AWARENESS MONTH! Be sure and make notice of it.

And that my friends, is where ‘Lenny’ and Me are 4 today.

Like always a few notes and reminders:

If you have any comments or questions about my postings, feel free to leave a comment on either at this blog, at the email address of wheezingaway@gmail.com or on https://www.facebook.com/copdtravels/.

            ALWAYS REMEMBER – if you or anyone you know have any symptoms involving lung and breathing functionality, and they linger over and over while disrupting a lifestyle – then please ask questions and get it checked out.

With that, I bid to all – smiles, prayers, blessings and steady breathing – Mr. William.

(Copyright@2019, CrossDove Writers through wheezingaway.com – no part of this write may be used or copied without written permission.) NOTES: Sometimes we share what may seem like medical information, but we are only giving descriptions and highlights of various aspects of having COPD and/or Asthma and no way do we ever want our information to be considered medical treatment type of information, always consult your physician for more, clearer medical founded information