Living life to the fullest with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Imagine if one day, you suddenly woke up and couldn't breathe.If the simple act of sitting and then standing up again caused you to experience a life threatening shortness of breath.

That's what Calvin Young's life was like when he got diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which affects the lungs.

Having been a smoker for several years, Young said he woke up one morning to attend a meeting, when he "took a big breath of air and couldn't breathe."

A few days later, Young woke up in the hospital diagnosed with pneumonia, butwhen the symptoms continued to get worse, doctors discovered Young had COPD.

Nov. 15, 2017isWorldCOPDDayand according to Dr. Birubi Biman, a respirologistand director of the COPDrehab clinic at St.Joseph's Care Group in Thunder Bay, Ont., nearly 10 to 12 per cent of people over the age of 60 have the disease, but only half of them are diagnosed.

"COPD is something that is under-appreciated," she said, which means over half of the individuals who experience symptomssuch as shortness of breath and tightness in the chestare either undiagnosed, or unaware they have the disease.

"Having been retired or recently retired or less active, they attribute the shortness of breath to in fact, aging ora normal physiologic process," Dr. Bimanexplained, but she said, like an iceberg, much of the problem is hidden.

She attributes smoke inhalation, recreational smoking, occupational exposure as well as genetics as factors that could increase an individual's chance of developingCOPD.

For Young, after being diagnosed with COPD, hewas forced to be home-bound, carrying an oxygen tank, with limited physical activity.

"[In] about a year and a half ... I went from 180 to almost 300 pounds," Young recalled, and "because I couldn't breath, I couldn't exercise."

Life was certainly not looking good for Young, as he spent most of his days at home just eating and trying to breath.

Soon after, Young was introduced toShelly Prevost, a respiratory therapistforthe Pulmonary Rehab Program at St.Joseph's Care Group.

Prevost said COPD can be manageable and patients can still enjoy life to the fullest by combining"new knowledge and skills and also exercise."

"One of the most important exercises we do is sit to stand, so sitting in a chair and standing up," Prevost explained, "it's a functional movement."

She said learning functional movementsfor patients with COPD allows themto stay home, regain their independence and adjust to their new lifestyle.

"The whole goal of pulmonary rehab is, if we can share the knowledge and teach the skills for people to use on a day to day basis, they can lead a really good lifeeven though they have COPD," Prevost said.

Since rehab, Young has lost weight and will soon be getting ready to move to Toronto be on the wait-listfor a double lung transplant.

This year for World COPD Day, Dr. Biman said the message is clear and simple:avoidance. She said anyone who is experiencing reoccurring episodes of bronchitisor shortness of breath should seek medical help, as a simple spirometry test will help determine if an individual has COPD.