Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
IT WAS DEVASTATING. I had never heard of it. My first instinct was ‘Oh my god, I’m going to die.’ I realised I’m not immortal.
Angela Shakil was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in May 2014. She suffered from severe bouts of bronchitis for months beforehand.
COPD is a condition where the airways of the lungs are narrower than normal, leading to airflow obstruction and difficulty breathing. This can result in shortness of breath and tiredness. COPD is a term used to include chronic bronchitis, emphysema or a combination of both conditions.
COPD arises principally due to smoking. It is the fourth most common cause of death in Ireland after lung cancer, heart disease and stroke.
Angela, who lives in Bray, says she struggled with depression after her diagnosis.
“The devastation you feel when you first find out, I can’t even being to describe it. Especially when you were fighting fit and very, very active all your life. Then simple things like going up the stairs leave you sitting there wondering ‘What did I do?’ …
The doctor said every cigarette I have after this will make it worse. I told my children that while (smoking) wasn’t affecting my health they had to leave me alone about it. I had to keep up my end of the bargain. I had to keep my word, didn’t I?
So after 40 years of smoking, Anegla turned to e-cigarettes and hasn’t smoked a cigarette since.
She has had about ten “serious” episodes so far this year as a result of her COPD.
You struggle to breathe, any slight effort I find myself wheezing or, worse, coughing – once you start coughing you can’t stop and that leaves you exhausted.
“Go and get it checked before you get COPD, before you can’t turn back the clock.”
Paying the mortgage or getting medication
Angela is struggling with the financial burden of her illness. She has school-going children and during the summer was forced to stop buying her inhalers so she could afford antibiotics and steroids.
There are times when I have to choose between paying my mortgage and paying for my inhalers, especially if I have to buy antibiotics that week.
Angela has found emotional help through COPD Support Ireland, the national umbrella body for local support groups.
She tries to lead a healthy lifestyle and walks 2-3km every day – usually in the morning, when her energy levels are higher.
380,000 people
Angela is one of more than 380,000 people in Ireland that live with the condition, with COPD Support Ireland warning that this figure is “alarmingly on the rise”.
Research shows that Ireland has one of the highest rates of death from COPD in Europe, with almost 2,000 people dying from the condition in 2014.
Next Wednesday (18 November) is World COPD Day.
During the week, COPD Support Ireland launched its annual Save Your Breath campaign and set out five key pledges it is urging political parties to sign up to ahead of the general election:
1. COPD spirometry* screening to be made publicly available to high-risk groups: people who are over 35 years of age and have symptoms of persistent breathlessness, coughing with phlegm and chest infections, people who are current or former smokers or have a family history of lung conditions (*a common test used to assess how well your lungs work by measuring how much air you inhale)
2. Pulmonary rehabilitation exercise programmes to be made available in all acute hospitals;
3. COPD outreach programmes to be offered by all acute hospitals, ensuring patients are treated at home where appropriate;
4. Medical card access to be provided for people with COPD in recognition of the significant health cost burden incurred;
5. National freephone helpline to be established for people with COPD to access information and advice from trained health professionals.
The awareness campaign, which sees a nationwide COPD health check-in tour offering free screening, was launched by Jerry Buttimer, chair of the Oireachtas health committee, and TV presenter Anna Nolan.
Professor Tim McDonnell, Consultant Respiratory Physician at St Vincent’s University Hospital, is encouraging people to get tested for the condition:
Last year, just over one in five of those tested nationally as part of COPD Support Ireland’s screening tour were referred to their GP for further examination on the basis of abnormal spirometry. Yet more than two-thirds of these had already had symptoms but had not sought medical advice. I would urge people not to ignore warning signs, but to seek medical advice. Early diagnosis of COPD means that you can start to get treated straightaway and potentially avoid some of the more serious effects of the disease.
COPD screening will take place at the following locations in the coming days (from 11am to 2.30pm, unless otherwise indicated):
People can find details about their local COPD support groups here or get more information on Twitter or Facebook.
You can donate €2 to the Save Your Breath campaign by texting the COPD to 50300 (100% of donations go to COPD Support Ireland across most network operators. Some operators apply VAT, which means that a minimum of €1.63 will go to COPD Support Ireland).
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Christ, my skins crawling after reading that.
The “love both” people will be delighted that she gave birth at age 10.
@Baltimore Lass: Here is a disgusting statistic from India ; A child under 10 is raped every 13 hours..
@Baltimore Lass: A cruel comment, nobody irrespective of their position would hold with the rape and resulting pregnancy of a young child, there are two child victims of this horror and whether it was a family member or other, someone is clearly abusing this little girl, all right thinking people would want such criminals apprehended and incarcerated, point scoring over this child’s suffering is in bad taste.
@Honeybee: Don’t be daft.You have so called “pro life” human rights activists in this country,who would fight tooth and nail for that 10 year old,to be forced to give birth…Baltimore Lass is spot on!
@Gerri Sant0r0: Baltimore lass stated people would be ‘delighted’ to see a ten year old give birth, really, you think anyone would be ‘delighted’ at such trauma and abuse?
@Honeybee :Where have you been hiding ? Didn’t you know that once that 10 year old child became pregnant,then she must give birth,according to those that ‘love both’? Marion ,where are you?
@Francis Mc Carthy: Typical of the pro choice side scoring points from a tragedy. Of the c.200000 abortions carried out in GB last year, how many were due to rape and incest? Carry-on making political football out these awful tragedies and show people how really hypocritical the pro choice side is. No ProLife person sees anything here to be celebrated.
Daniel : Do you believe that that 10 year old child should have a choice of ending that pregnancy in Ireland ?
@Daniel Dunne: And to answer your question,I will never know how many were for rape/incest,and the reason for this,is that rape is under-reported.And your lot are not “pro life” ..Your lot are ‘pro-mental torture’ ‘pro forced birth’ ‘pro death’ ..Away with yah.
@Daniel Dunne: They celebrated the incarceration, force feeding and forced caesarian of a rape victim as a “positive outcome”,
If a 10 year old Irish girl was pregnant, the 8th amendment would force her to give birth. A blunt instrument that tortures women and girls in this country if they can’t afford to travel.
India is a medieval society.
@Emmet Dillane: and Ireland is not
@Emmet Dillane: India would have allowed an abortion up to 20 weeks. Ireland, under the 8th amendment would have forced this child to give birth regardless.
It gets sicker and sicker. This little girl is going to need a lot of help and support. And the men who raped her need to be punished and then a lot more punishment.
That poor little girl … heart goes out to the child
To attempt to fathom the depth of trauma this little girl has gone through is horrifying. I truly hope she is receives the psychological support she will need.
Cases like these highlight the necessity in stengthening the global campaign against all forms of sexual violence.
“DNA results have led to suspicions that she may have been abused by others”. Looks like Sherlock is on the case.
India really have some the brightest people on this planet but then you hear these stories and think they have also the worst type of people on the planet and a crazy functioning society.
I seem to remember after the whole Savita Halipanavaar story that there were a lot of guest commentators from India in the liberal faction of the Irish media slating Irish healthcare, attitudes and law. We were supposed to be a backward society according to them and yet this kind of thing happens in their backyard all the time with no sign of them now and their ironic comments. It’s only a few months ago that rats got into a baby ward in a hospital in India and ate the face of a new born baby.
have your say