Although I have had Episodic Asthma for
as long as I can remember I hadn't any real breathing
difficulty until 1996 when I retired & moved from sea
level (on the Oregon coast) to an altitude of 8500 feet
in Morrison,Colorado. I began to notice shortness of
breath when walking uphill. I found that I fit the
criteria for a Breathing Study advertised in the Denver
Post and became a Study Participant.
After this I continued to regularly participate in
Respiratory Studies from 1996 until 2004. In a 1998
study at National Jewish became acquainted a once a day
anti-cholinergic tiotropium. I considered this
particular study drug my "holy grail" & participated in
as many studies of this drug as I could until it finally
became available first in the Netherlands & finally in
the US.
My course of treatment for COPD has always been
self-managed in conjunction with Respiratory Study
participation. My condition remained very stable & well
controlled with a regimen of a broncodialator, an
anti-cholinergic & an inhaled steroid until the fall of
2004. Since then I have been on supplementary Oxygen
24/7 in addition to these medications.
Very little information was available about chronic
lung disease other than asthma in 1996; only sketchy
details were imparted to me by the persons conducting
the studies. I independently researched everything I
could find in various libraries. This too was very
limited.
In 2001 I found EFFORTS (Emphysema Foundation For Our
Right To Survive) on the Internet which afforded a
wealth of information on COPD and Peer Support. This
inspired me to become actively involved in Advocacy for
COPD Awareness.
I attended the first COPD Coalition Conference at
Arlington, VA in November 2003, resulting in total
commitment on my part to COPD Awareness & Advocacy. I
also attended the 2004 LTOT Consensus Conference. I am
the Community Liaison for Colorado ALA, 2007 ALAC
Volunteer of the Year, Co-chairman of the Colorado COPD
Connection Conference Committee, Editor of the CCC
eNewsletter & Editor-in-Chief of EVERYTHING RESPIRATORY
Magazine, www.ER-Mag.com
In my spare time... well, there is no spare time!!!
My professional life includes a thirty-year career as
a Medical Technologist with a specialty in Hematology,
Coagulation and Blood Bank.
I "reinvented" myself in 1982 and became a newspaper
reporter, freelance journalist and historian.
Following a ten year alliance with the fourth estate
I returned to Clinical Laboratory Science until my
retirement in 1996.
