I recently read a letter in a syndicated advice column from a person who attended a play in a major American city and was annoyed by another playgoer's oxygen machine. The letter writer reported that a machine "gasped loudly every 10 seconds." This person went on to say, basically, that the noise rui...
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Refreshing Post, Jane
Kathi MacNaughton
Sunday, March 01, 2009 at 03:42 PM
I enjoyed reading this post. I am a nurse and caregiver for a person with COPD. I've seen this sort of prejudice that you describe before, a couple of times within my own family. In one case, it was the sound of the nebulizer that someone found annoying. These lifesaving treatments help my mom keep her lungs going, and yes, the machine is noisy and distracting, but how much worse would we feel if it were us feeling tethered to that machine 4 times a day?
As a young mother, I once had a woman in a store complain loudly, "These people and their ** strollers!", much the same attitude as the theater patron you tell of and the person with the oxygen. It's so easy to be self-centered and think only of your own comfort, without considering the person you're complaining about. Whether it's a stroller with your toddler, a crying infant, a blind person with a cane, or a COPDer on portable oxygen, we each need to pratice more tolerance. Live and let live...
re: Refreshing Post, Jane
Jane M. Martin
Sunday, March 01, 2009 at 04:10 PM
Thank you, Kathi, and welcome to the COPD Community on Health Central!
There's no doubt that our readers need to know the facts about medications, lung function numbers, and all that goes with staying healthy with lung disease. Yet, it is things like this, things that happen in everyday life, like you said -- the misinformation, ignorance, and lack of awareness -- that can really knock us down. In my posts I try to talk about the human element in living life (and it can be a good life!) with COPD that I've for so long seen as neglected and dismissed.
Thanks again!
Jane.
re: re: Refreshing Post, Jane
Kathi MacNaughton
Monday, March 02, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Thanks for the welcome, Jane! Glad to be here. Even though I'm a nurse, I'm also interested in presenting the human side of COPD and caregiving for COPD. I think it's one of the things that sets the HealthCentral sites apart from many other medical sites.
re: re: Refreshing Post, Jane
I enjoyed reading this post. I am a nurse and caregiver for a person with COPD. I've seen this sort of prejudice that you describe before, a couple of times within my own family. In one case, it was the sound of the nebulizer that someone found annoying. These lifesaving treatments help my mom keep her lungs going, and yes, the machine is noisy and distracting, but how much worse would we feel if it were us feeling tethered to that machine 4 times a day?
As a young mother, I once had a woman in a store complain loudly, "These people and their ** strollers!", much the same attitude as the theater patron you tell of and the person with the oxygen. It's so easy to be self-centered and think only of your own comfort, without considering the person you're complaining about. Whether it's a stroller with your toddler, a crying infant, a blind person with a cane, or a COPDer on portable oxygen, we each need to pratice more tolerance. Live and let live...