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My name is Diane Bell. I am 61 years old (born in 1944) and married to Brooks, who is younger than me so we don't mention his age. Neither of us have any children, but we share our home and lives with Molly (6 year old Border Collie/Mystery mix), Buster (1 1/2 year old Border Collie/Corgi mix -- not Molly's pup BTW), Oscar (10 year old, gray & white, feline patriarch of the family), Lucky (4 year old, black - luckily with a tiny patch of white on her tummy, wannabe feline matriarch), and Mr. Blue (1 year old or so, Betta Fish, who wisely lives alone.) Molly and Buster do not have a clue that they are dogs. They think they are our children and that we are weird because we dress them in funny black and white fur coats all the time. Honestly, they are the smartest dogs I've ever known and since they don't have any sheep or cows to herd, they spend their energy and intelligence on being devoted to us, running our lives (the cats' lives, too), and finding ways to clearly communicate with us. (g) My family is fraught with addictions and alcoholism and my childhood was filled with neglect and abuse and all the chaos and problems that are typical in alcoholic families. I became an enabler and predictably married a problem drinker. The marriage ended shortly after I joined Al-Alanon in 1985. 12-Step recovery has become a way of life for me and as a form of service work, I put up my web site, Diane's Links to Recovery. Recently I added a page on COPD, so you might be interested in visiting it. I started smoking when I was 19 years old and smoked for 38 years before finally quitting. When I was in my late 20's chronic bronchitis became a problem for about 10 years until all the cilia in my lungs were destroyed, so that I no longer coughed. I would ease the coughing by switching to menthol cigarettes until I was well again. Tried to quit many times, couldn't do it, gave up, and promised myself that I would quit smoking with the first symptom of lung problems -- of course, chronic bronchitis didn't count! And the sad thing to me is that I never read or heard one word about that fact that by the time you have your first symptom of lung disease, your lungs are already 50 to 75% gone. Would it have made a difference? Probably not. But I always make sure it's the first bit of information out of my mouth when anyone asks. My respiratory problems began to get "out-of-hand" in 1998 -- continual sinus infections treated with prednisone bursts and z-paks, edema in feet and calves that had gotten worse and worse each year, couldn't walk five feet without huffing and puffing and sweating profusely (was so bad I was embarrassed to go anywhere), constant exhaustion, extremely fatigued 24/7, foggy brain, and some other stuff that I'm not remembering right now -- foggy brain has never gone away! LOL! In 1999 I was diagnosed with severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea and gained 100 lbs. in one year which just made everything worse to an extreme degree. They put me on a CPAP machine and all my symptoms improved for a year then gradually started up again. In August, 2001 I was diagnosed with Emphysema and I immediately signed up for the next smoking cessation class at University Hospital, but it didn't start until 11/01/01. I quit smoking on 11/28/01 -- coincidentally the day Beatle George Harrison died. I used patches, gum, and Wellbutrin but stopped the patches waaaayyy early and I'm still on Wellbutrin. (g) Actually, it's the first anti-depressant I've ever taken that made me feel better, so my doctor suggested that I just keep taking it. The first week in January, 2003, I found COPD-Support.Com and immediately subscribed to the beginner's list. It has been a life saver for me because I was certain that my death was imminent. I had no clue that my FEV1 of 68% when I was diagnosed meant that I have mild to moderate COPD and that my "condition" was totally manageable. After not smoking for over three years, my FEV1 is now 78% which is good cause to celebrate! I learned all that here and will forever be grateful for the education and friendships I have gained through this group. In June, 2003 (after COPD-Support suffered a series of volunteer administration staff losses) I volunteered to help. I had 20 years of computer experience and spreadsheet skills, plus 4 years experience working online with a 12-Step recovery forum, so they put me to work right away -- I think they usually want volunteers to be in the group for at least a year, but they were desperate. (g) I am an Administrative Manager and on the Board of Directors and feel incredibly grateful that I am able to return a small portion of what I have received. On June 1, 2004 I was diagnosed with two unrelated cancers, uterine (stage IIIa) and ovarian (stage IIc) and spent the next 9 months in treatment (chemotherapy and radiation). There are two things about this experience that I am grateful for: my hair is finally growing back Hugs and many blessings, Diane |
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