Patient Stories

Adele 

“I hate exercise with a passion, but I know that being faithful to the exercises in pulmonary rehab these past nine years has helped me to function and retain a fairly active lifestyle."

Adele smoked cigarettes for almost 50 years. Ironically, several of her friends who never smoked fell victim to lung cancer, but Adele did not. She decided to quit in 1995 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She was later diagnosed with COPD and has been in pulmonary rehab for nine years.

Mary

Mary was always an active woman. Whether she was working, traveling or spending time with her many grandchildren, she was always on the go.

Mary was also a longtime smoker. She smoked up until the day her lungs collapsed in 1999 due to her Emphysema.

Since then Mary has spent her life connected to her Oxygen tank, dealing with COPD. Instead of working and traveling she now spends her time going to rehab designed to strengthen her lungs.

“I have to take the oxygen with me everywhere. I can’t do the same things I used to do with my grandkids.”