Hope for COPD

COPD AT 40 Hi everyone, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Justine Peach. I am a 40 year old woman with a beautiful 16 year old daughter and I live in Melbourne Australia. I used to have a wonderful job that I loved doing. I worked as a nursery hand in a wholesale plant nursery. I moved between two different areas every six months. For the first six months I would be doing all areas of the work place. I would transplant baby plants into trays on a conveyor belt or moving trays of plants to their designated area to grow. Once ready we would be moving the trays from the ground to a trailer attached to a buggy and put them down ready to pick orders. Staking tomato plants, or watering the entire stock. Sweltering on hot days in greenhouses. There were many different areas and depending on staff and stock as to what our job for the day would be. The other six months I would spend at the main nursery department as a dispatch worker. Getting plants ready to load on t...

How relationships MAY change when you are chronically ill.  Finding out you are chronically ill, is challenging at best. But, there are other things you may find more hurtful. Please do not take this the wrong way. I want you to find a positive even in the event of a negative.  Here is a (by no means comprehensive) list of things I have experienced since finding out I had stage III lung disease. They are in no particular order, but I feel they are important to talk about. Knowing what to expect, makes the disappointment hurt a little less.  1. Your friends and family may doubt you. Google "invisible illness", it is any disease or defect that is not visible to other people. Because you look healthy, or "normal" people may not believe you are really sick. They may be down right nasty about it.  Now, there are ways to handle this. And, I am not here to tell you what is the correct way. Each person is different, and will need further explainin...

How much does it cost to have Severe COPD, severe arthritis, carpal tunnel, chronic pain (unexplained), and illness associated anxiety? For 2014-2015 Medications $11959.43 Dr. Visits $1620.18 (specialists and primary) OTC medications, vitamins, and supplements $798.37 Travel to specialist $681.49 (gas, tolls, parking, and meals) Grand total of $15059.47 NOT including oxygen concentrator or nebulizer rental.  Thankfully most of that is covered for me. Over 24 MILLION people in the US have COPD... 15 million don't even know it yet! As the numbers rise, the likelihood of YOU getting COPD rises... If you are short of breathe, get tested. Don't work too hard or too much, breathe CLEAN air. Work for a better way to live, work, and breathe.  Sadly, outdoor air pollution cannot be avoided. But with much effort by many, it might be reduced.

In the USA Mental Health Week is October 5th - 11th.  Please join me this week to talk about mental illness. It's TIME. I will be hosting a discussion in my group, HOPE for COPD at:  HOPE for COPD  on Facebook.  THURSDAY October 9th from 7PM-9PM CST.  Come talk about how mental illness affects you. Be it your self, a family member, or friend. Without open and honest discussion, the stigma will remain. The group is closed, only group members can see your posts. Your friends and family will not be able to see what you post in the group. So, you can speak freely. *One in four adults−approximately 61.5 million Americans−experiences mental illness in a given year. One in 17−about 13.6 million−live with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, major depression or bipolar disorder. *Approximately 20 percent of youth ages 13 to 18 experience severe mental disorders in a given year. For ages 8 to 15, the estimate is 13 percent. *Approximate...