COPD.

[eddiesolo]

Today I have a confirmed diagnoses that I have COPD, years working in dusty environments coupled with smoking and modelling-spraying etc have taken there toll.

The past few years I have noticed my lung junction changing but put it down to age etc, I started to make sure I always wore a mask with filters for spraying-also extractor booth ventilated to the outside.

I get tired easily, coupled with my arthritis and FM I get knackered really easy but I am damned if I am going to stop modelling!

So, keep safe guys and wear a mask when spraying.

[Guest]

Si....you know my opinion.....I don’t want to see you stopping modelling, mate!!!
So keep safe and remember your second family, here, on the Forum!

[Marcello]

Hi Si,
positive thinking and mind set this is the way to go :thumb2: looking forward to you next creations

[eddiesolo]

Si....you know my opinion.....I don’t want to see you stopping modelling, mate!!!
So keep safe and remember your second family, here, on the Forum!

Thanks mate, I will still potter around as best I can as it helps physically and mentally.

[eddiesolo]

Hi Si,
positive thinking and mind set this is the way to go :thumb2: looking forward to you next creations

Good advice mate, it is difficult as mental illness is also something I suffer from but, I have learned to cope regarding that and not let things get on top of me...well too much and if they do I try and calm myself quickly.

[Guest]

Hi Si I was diagnosed with COPD 6yrs ago, you will have good days and bad, but you learned to cope and not let things get on top of you and as you say you lean to calm yourself down do thing at your pace, the worst thing I found is you get frustrated in what you could do.

I look back at what I could achieve not so long ago and I just get very frustrated. The reason is that I have COPD and stage 3 gold severe Emphyseme with a FEV1 which means I've only got between 30 & 50% of normal breathing capacity and yes I'm on oxygen that's why I hand paint I used airbrush and was pretty good if I say so myself. There also the amount of drugs I have to take 32 tablets a day ( which is 11,680 a year at that's when I'm well) which makes me shake a lot. About 2years ago I also had lung volume reduction surgery at the Royal Brompton London to remove damaged parts of my lungs.I also have other stuff going on which doesn't help matters.
That's my story not yours things have moved on in 6yrs just ask for help if you need it. It's there if you need it and your not on your own if you want to chat just PM me.
Pete.

[monica]

so sorry to hear,Si,As you would know I do have much the same condition as well,it has knocked me as well,
after being told,and other stuff as well,as I,have said,did not piickup a brush for ,over 6 months,do very little,
rattle can spraying if so ,out in the open and do wear a mask,
and Iike how Peter is saying with the,meds,It dose make you shake,so good and bad days,some day .just unable to,
do any think,
look after,your shelf,so what your able to,and enjoy,I know a few people who,have simulate,things as well,people
who,paint sculpt , we all end up getting some type of bad thing,
take care,look after your shelf,and enjoy what you can do when you can,
always enjoy seeing you builds,and look forward to the next,:smiling::thumb2:

[grumpa]

Wow! scanning around out of boredom which is rare for me and found this posting.
Sorry about your condition Si, but know you are not alone.
I too have developed COPD only within the last year and it has hit me like a run away freight train.
Bloody awful it is and I almost feel a cripple.

Only a year or so ago I could fell trees, lug logs, and scamper around like a young-un.
Now I get winded walking to the bathroom, luckily I have my boys and Grand kids to take up my slack
but the mental anguish and frustration are almost too much to bare at times.

The missus says just relax and let the kids handle the business and do the laborious chores (which are many)
concentrate on your modeling....yada...yada...yada.

HUMBUG! I say!


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[Guest]

You old devil Si.

You just have to keep on soldiering on. As Sir Winston Spencer Churchill stated. "Never never never give up".

At 80 I have a string of not so good things. But I see model making as away of allying these things I will not
be beaten.

I have slowed but in slowing strangely life has become more enjoyable. To enjoy the love of my wife. I just love
just to go out shopping with her. A short walk into town. Just to watch other people a joy.

Not easy but the good things are your life not the others.

Laurie

Si a just lovely piece I came across. It may not be the answer to your predicament
However it has a lot of sense & gives a lighter side of life. So take heart life is
very precious despite the downsides.

""As I've aged, I've become kinder to, and less critical of, myself.
I've become my own friend.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world, too soon; before
they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it, if I choose to read, or play on the computer,
until 4 AM, or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those
wonderful tunes of the 50s, 60s & 70s, and if I, at the same time,
wish to weep over a lost love, I will.

I will walk the beach, in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging
body, and will dive into the waves, with abandon, if I choose to,
despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just
as well forgotten. And, eventually, I remember the important things.

Sure, over the years, my heart has been broken. How can your heart not
break, when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even
when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are
what give us strength, and understanding, and compassion. A heart
never broken, is pristine, and sterile, and will never know the joy of
being imperfect..

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning
gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep
grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died
before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about
what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even
earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free.. I
like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but
while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have
been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every
single day (if I feel like it).

MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT
FROM THE HEART!