COPD

We made it to Salt Lake with a week long side trip to Casper, WY for the girls and I. I'll post more about that with some pictures later. For now, I thought I'd write about something I've had to deal with the last few days... complications of COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulminary Disease). I don't have this, but my mom does. It is an umbrella disease which covers chronic bronchitis and emphysema. My mom has emphysema and asthma. I don't remember exactly when my mom was diagnosed, but I remember her spending a week in the hospital when I was in high school, and shortly after that had to quit working. There are about five stages, my mom was told she was in the final stages about 5 years ago.

COPD is a progressive disease, which means those with it do not get better, but progressively worse. It causes lung tissue to die and that tissue is not regrown. It is not only caused by smoking, but smoking definitely aggrivates the situation and makes the disease progress quickly. This is why my mom's is so advanced. My mom claims that her lungs became weakened by the powder in latex gloves from working in the hospital for so many years. But she did smoke, for 20 years, and so her lungs are mad... very mad. BTW my mom stopped smoking 14 years ago, which is the main reason she is alive today.

There are two things that slow the progression of the disease. One is oxygen therapy. My mom has been on 24/7 oxygen therapy for about 7 years. The other thing is activity. The more active someone is, the slower the disease progresses. My mom has been able to maintain a good, active lifestyle for those 7 years... until recently.

What COPD does is it restricts the ability of the lungs to diffuse oxygen from the air into the blood. It also restricts the lung's ability to exhale CO2. So it gets harder and harder for the lungs to exchange O2 to the blood and CO2 into the air. As the lungs hold more and more CO2, the tissues die. Once dead, the capacity decreases. Because the blood has less and less oxygen, the heart has to work harder and harder to carry oxygenated blood throughout the body. This can cause pulminary hypertension (or enlarged heart) which my mom also has. She had a heart attack three years ago.

There is not a definite time-line for someone with COPD. It all depends on when they are diagnosed, what their condition is when they are diagnosed, how long until they are on oxygen therapy, and how active they are. My mom has been able to live a very active lifestyle and has enjoyed a lot of time with her family and friends. The last couple of months her ability to stay active has declined. She started getting short of breath doing things like walking to the car, sweeping the floor, taking a bath. She has also been placed on heavy steroids to fight infections, which makes her gain weight, which results in less-activity. She began limiting her activities, but she still had to up her oxygen levels to maintain a good pulse ox (anything under 90 is indicative of depleted oxygenated blood). After fighting a few bouts of bronchitis, she was having a harder and harder time recovering. She went to the ER on Thursday with a pulse ox of 81. They admitted her and diagnosed her with pneumonia... which is very dangerous for someone with already compromised lung capacity. In order to fight the infection and keep her pulse ox at 89/90 she has to be on 8 liters of oxygen. To put this into perspective, before two months ago, she was on 2 liters sitting and 3 liters with exertion. She also had a cat scan recently which showed that her left lung is now competely diseased and non-functioning. No wonder she has been feeling so miserable.

So what does this mean? It means she is entering a very volatile time in her disease. On 8 liters of oxygen, she is not portable because non of her portable devices go up that high. This will lead to more inactivity which can lead to chronic bouts of bronchitis and pneumonia which will, in turn damage her lungs, which will lead to more inactivity... well you get the picture. But my mom is a fighter! There is no way to predict how long she will live. I hope she lives as long as she wants to live. But I refuse to take any time I have with her for granted. We don't leave anything unsaid. And I have learned as much as I can about her disease so that I can be someone she can be real with.

We are all hoping my mom gets out of the hospital today. I love my mom. I hurt for her suffering. I admire her willingness to fight and stay strong. I dedicate this post to her, to her spirit and to all she has taught me about life, love and motherhood.

I love you mom and I'm praying for you.


To learn more about COPD, go here.