Life Before Zephyr^® Valves:

I had COPD for a while but was told it was the bronchitis type. Then, in 2014, after an exacerbation, a CT scan confirmed I actually had emphysema. I had smoked for 40 years and quit cold turkey after receiving that diagnosis.

Emphysema is life-changing. I learned to stop doing the things that caused exertion. I had to give up one of my favorite parts of my social life — dancing. I go on a cruise every year with my friends and had to start using wheelchair assistance to get on and off the ship and at airports. When walking around the ship I could stop and rest when I needed to, but I couldn’t participate in most of the fun activities anymore, like dancing. I missed out on some excursions, too, especially if they involved a lot of walking. Emphysema makes living hard.

As the disease progressed, it got to the point where I couldn’t do daily tasks like housework, going up stairs, and carrying out the trash. I needed help with almost everything that caused exertion. I could cook, take care of personal hygiene, and dress myself, but not without oxygen.

My disease was taking a physical toll, but I am not the kind of person to let it get me down. I was always determined to try to make my condition better. I received a lot of support through friends and Facebook groups. Pulmonary rehab is a very important component to being able to get my health to the best I could make it. I was able to wean myself off of oxygen by exercising to build stamina and strength but, even with that, I still kept the oxygen nearby and my lung function was still pretty low.

I had at least one hospitalization every year. The longest stay was 11 days in 2018, and that’s when my pulmonologist asked me if I would consider a lung transplant. My lung function was down to 31%. That’s when I spoke with a Dr. Michael Simoff at Henry Ford Hospital who said that I might be a candidate for treatment with the Zephyr Valve. After taking all the tests, I was very happy to learn that I qualified!

Life Before Zephyr^® Valves:

Before COPD/emphysema I was always on the go. Living in Florida, I grew up on the water and love surfing and scuba diving. In my career I was a domestic violence counselor, Juvenile Justice Resident Officer, and a property manager. I was also a cheerleading coach and gymnastics instructor. Needless to say, I kept very busy!

About 10 years ago, I had to call 911 because I couldn’t breathe. I was put on a ventilator and in an induced coma. They thought it was an allergic reaction, but it was my lungs. I had a new grandbaby that was only 15 days old when that happened. It scares me to think of all I almost missed.

Once I was diagnosed with COPD/emphysema, I tried to go on living life, but I kept getting sick. I was on prednisone several times a year. I did go to a pulmonologist, but I didn’t like what he had to say. He told me all the things I couldn’t do, and I was shocked when he recommended that I get on the lung transplant list.

Then about five years ago, on a trip to Hawaii, I realized I was really struggling with all the walking. It wasn’t too long after that trip that just walking to the car had me winded. About four years ago they put me on oxygen. I was a “closet user.” When everyone else took a lunch break, I’d go in the car and drive around to use my oxygen where no one could see. I didn’t even want to tell my kids.

My big life started to shrink. I used to teach diving and swimming lessons, but it got to the point where I couldn’t even clean my pool anymore. Some days I didn’t even care if I ate. This disease was taking both a physical and mental toll on me.

I still had some fight in me, though. I have four biological grandkids and five step grandkids, and for some of them I am the only living grandparent. I wanted to be there for them. After seeing a post about the Zephyr Valves on Facebook, I asked my doctor about them. Well, he didn’t know too much but said the procedure wouldn’t work for me because my lungs were already too far gone. I told him we’d have to agree to disagree, and I went to the Mayo Clinic where the valves were offered. Dr. Bussy explained the guidelines and answered all my questions. After all the testing, they called to say I qualified…and boy was that a reason to celebrate!