Life Before Zephyr^® Valves:

I was fortunate enough to have the procedure done in January and it was the best thing I ever did for myself!

My COPD/emphysema had been at Stage 4 for over 10 years, and I have had no more than 30% lung function for the past five years. I was using 4 liters of oxygen 24/7 and still had to stop to catch my breath. I was always the type of person who never went to the doctor unless I absolutely had to and never imagined I would end up on oxygen and all these medications.

My COPD made life even more challenging because I also had serious heart problems. Any COPD exasperation puts stress on the heart. My husband and I were helping raise two grandsons and I worked as a school bus driver. Trying to start the bus in the colder months was so difficult on my breathing that my husband started doing it for me. Eventually I had to leave my job because I didn’t feel it was safe for the kids. I didn’t want to take any chances of something happening to me while I was driving them. During Red Ribbon Week, I visited each classroom of grades 1–6 to talk about smoking and what it can do to your body. I even took my respiratory physical therapist with me. It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done but I feel it is so important to show kids how smoking will affect you. If we helped one kid make the choice not to smoke, it was worth it.

COPD impacts all aspects of life including the ability to go places. At Stage 4, I was retaining CO2 and they said not to leave the house without my portable ventilator and a walker. I had to pick and choose where I went because it was challenging to carry that tank around. I would run out of breath just talking on the phone. It affects you in more ways than you think, including intimacy with my husband, who is 12 years younger.

I had been trying to get on the list for a lung transplant and was led to believe that after having testing and losing the required weight, that I would be good to go. But after two years, I felt like they were just dragging it out. It was incredibly frustrating.

I decided I needed a new pulmonologist and it was actually my heart doctor, Dr. John Schrader, who referred me to Dr. Yasir Usman who talked to me about the lung valve option. I wanted to get it right there on the spot. But, of course, he sent me for the testing and, fortunately, I was approved for the procedure.

Life Before Zephyr^® Valves:

I was diagnosed with COPD in 2002, but it took me seven years to quit smoking. I tried everything! What finally did it was a coughing fit so severe that I didn’t think I’d catch my breath and come out of it. I put my faith in God and quit that day. I succeeded by sheer determination and great support from my husband and kids. But even though I quit smoking, I did not see a lot of improvement. I was having trouble breathing and it just got worse and worse every year. In 2012 I saw a pulmonologist for the first time, and he gave me five years to live.

I was a carpenter, and we owned our own business. After having children, I worked at home and ran the office. As my emphysema worsened, I couldn’t walk from the house to the mailbox without having to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. A year prior to receiving valves, I was in bad shape. I went on oxygen when sleeping because my stats would drop to 81 during the night. Shortly after, I was on oxygen full time. I hated it. It was so clumsy and awkward carrying that concentrator around, but I needed it 24/7, even if I was just working in the yard.

Eventually, I couldn’t drive or even vacuum which was very sad. My disease seemed to be progressing faster and our family life suffered for it. I couldn’t do a lot with my kids anymore, like Girl Scout activities, riding 4-wheelers, and going to Florida on vacation. I couldn’t go outside in the humidity. Any activity would stop me in my tracks. Eventually I couldn’t do anything and that left me feeling guilty and depressed. I felt like an invalid, always needing someone to go get stuff.

Fortunately for me, it was my pulmonologist who told me what great things they were doing at Froedtert, specifically the valve program there. We talked about that being an option for me. I was willing to try anything that would help me breathe better. I went there for testing and was approved to get Zephyr Valves.

Life Before Zephyr^® Valves:

I was a truck driver for Walmart for 28 years. In December 1999, I was on a run and felt like I was coming down with the flu, so I went home and rested. Well, it wasn’t just the flu because a week later I was in the hospital with only 10% lung function, placed in a drug-induced coma, and hooked up to a ventilator.

I was diagnosed with emphysema complicated by bronchitis. I quit smoking right then and with the use of inhalers, my stamina built back up. After three months, I returned to work and was able to continue for several years until 2017 when I had five exacerbations and my lung health really declined.

In 2017 my mom was sick and I had to go to Iowa to care for her. The stress of the situation coupled with the humid weather put me in the hospital for a week when I got home. I had only been using oxygen at night, but after this flareup I needed it 24/7. Regulations prohibited me from having an oxygen tank on my truck, so I had to take a leave of absence from work, eventually retiring completely.  

After 2017, the disease stole my life as I knew it. I went from driving a truck across the U.S. to struggling just to walk around the house. Working on cars was my hobby and I couldn’t do that anymore. I had to sell my 1969 Chevelle. We downsized our home because I couldn’t care for our two-acre property anymore. It was a very difficult time.

When I heard about valves I had a lot of questions. Dr. Sharma was honest and explained that I wasn’t going to get rid of the disease, but this treatment was a chance to breathe better. I did not hesitate to try this.

Life Before Zephyr^® Valves:

I was diagnosed with COPD in 2010. Before severe COPD/Emphysema, my life was so full. I was a Mr. Mom and raised my three kids on my own. Once they were grown, I enjoyed playing golf and had an active social life.

I’ve been a plumber for over 50 years. Breathing in all kinds of dust, asbestos, and who knows what else, coupled with smoking, did a number on my lungs. As the disease progressed, I began to have a lot more bad days than good ones. I was living alone and just taking a shower or walking from one end of the house to the other became difficult. I had to get people to help me with the basics of taking care of myself.  

It is frustrating when you can’t do what you want to do. I missed out on a lot of things, like dance recitals for my grandkids, because I just couldn’t do the walking. I couldn’t eat much because it was too uncomfortable. My children were worried about me because as COPD limited my life, I became really depressed. I went from being a social person to being alone, and the feeling of hopelessness was overwhelming. Fortunately, I did go to talk to someone and that helped me get through.

About two and a half years ago, I was in the hospital being treated for a flare up and the pulmonary doctor told me about the valves. I told my doctor at the VA in Dayton right away and we kept following the status of the valves until they were approved by the FDA in 2018. I was one of the first in Dayton to receive the valves!

Life Before Zephyr^® Valves:

Life before COPD and emphysema was wonderful. I raised two great daughters, loved my work, and enjoyed traveling with my husband. We went to the Gulf Shores every year, but everything changed when I got sick.

I was first diagnosed in 2009 by my family doctor. I used inhalers right away, but I put off the oxygen as long as I could. Oxygen felt like such a big step, but eventually I had no choice. It was my daughter’s nursing school graduation and I was determined to go. We borrowed a wheelchair from church and brought the oxygen tank out. The only issue was I put it on the wrong setting and ended up running out. Well, if you are going to have a medical issue, a graduation full of new nurses is not the worst place.

My emphysema progressed quickly. By 2012 I was very sick. I was approved for disability right away which is rare in Kentucky, but my records showed how sick I was. I was referred to the transplant center. I was so overwhelmed: The transplant list is a big commitment. Endless testing, bloodwork, rehabilitation, and if you don’t comply, you don’t stay on the list. I did this for two years. I spoke with a woman who had a transplant and she explained what I could expect. However, when I asked her if she would do it over again, she said no. I also knew a nurse who had the lung transplant and only lived for three additional years. I was frightened, but at that point, that was my only real option.

Life was very difficult. Just getting out of bed and dressed would take all the stamina I had. It was hard to leave the house. I am so blessed to have such a great guy who stood by me through all this. My husband had to do everything because I could no longer cook or do housework. It was a very depressing time. Life was going by, and I could not participate anymore.

Then my doctor mentioned the Zephyr Valve treatment. I was unsure at first, but once I met with the team doing the clinical trial, I felt that I should try this because it was definitely a better option than a major organ transplant.

Life Before Zephyr^® Valves:

I was first diagnosed with emphysema 10 years ago. The crazy thing is I went through high school, college, and worked for a decade before I even held a cigarette. 

Before emphysema I had a full life. We raised a family, traveled, golfed, and I had a full career. In the early stages it was manageable, but as time went on, even with medication, the disease began to impact my quality of life.

I had always been an avid golfer, often hitting the green several days a week, but about three years ago, the emphysema won, and I had to stop. In the last few years even small activities like taking the trash out or carrying the groceries from the car was difficult.

Our annual family vacation to Cape Cod became challenging. Some days I couldn’t make the 200-yard walk from the house to the water. I would stay back while the family went to the beach. The disease cut short many of our retirement dreams. My wife and I had planned to visit our granddaughter in Italy. We even laid out the itinerary, but my health was too fragile to take the trip.

We’d get invited to parties but standing and talking for long periods would cause me to lose my breath. It was embarrassing. This disease takes a toll on you both physically and mentally. I started playing the blame game. I thought to myself “no one did this to me but me.” I just felt defeated.

There are not enough words to express how grateful I am for all the love and support my wife gave me while I was struggling with COPD. I was unable to do so many tasks around the house that then became her job. Never did my wife complain, not even once. This disease is terrible for the patient but makes life very hard for the caregivers too.

My golfing partner is a physician and he first told me about the Zephyr Valves while it was in clinical trial. We followed the progress of the trial and as soon as the valves were FDA approved, I knew I wanted to try them.

Life Before Zephyr^® Valves:

I was fortunate enough to have a job I loved and looked forward to going to every day. I spent 36 years working as an engineer for CSX Railroad. I spent my days on the train seeing parts of Florida many never get to see. I enjoyed fishing, hunting, and spending time with my family and dogs. But as my breathing became worse, the activities I loved to do started decreasing.

I was diagnosed with severe COPD/emphysema at age 62. Even though I quit smoking 24 years ago, the habit still had a severe impact on my lung health. It felt like I was living on my rescue inhalers. One was always by my side. In the beginning, I used oxygen only at night, but that soon grew to be an all-day thing too. I was really scared to do anything; even simple things like walking out to my truck, because honestly, I was scared that I was going to die.

When you have COPD or emphysema, it feels like you are living in a bubble. You are strapped to your oxygen and the activities you loved so much are taken away. My breathing got down to 25% and that is when Dr. Juan Cevallos referred me to Dr. Nathan Do’s office, and we started the testing to get Zephyr Valves.

Life Before Zephyr^® Valves:

COPD took away my ability to live the life I loved. My wife Diana and I were very active people. Losing that ability was tough because I’m a “doer.” Fishing is my number one hobby and I love to work with my hands, carving and whittling.

In my career as a supervisor for construction electricians I was exposed to plenty of filth and concrete dust. I also smoked but quit 17 years ago. For years I was just treated with medication for asthma because my symptoms seemed seasonal in the beginning. Then about 13 years ago, I got really sick with pneumonia. A few years later, I noticed I started running out of steam and had to slow down. That’s really when everything began to change and I was diagnosed with COPD.

Diana and I participated in a lot of activities in our community. We loved to line dance but as my condition worsened, I could only get halfway through a song. Eventually, I felt it was silly to even get up and try. We are the heads of the Entertainment Committee, and I couldn’t even walk to the podium to announce the shows. It got to the point where I didn’t want to do anything.

My wife is amazing. When I would have a bad episode, I’d be purple and gray and she’d ask, “Can I call 9-1-1?” I would tell her no, even though it felt like I’d die before I’d recover. Finally, Diana asked, “Then when can I call 9-1-1?” and I said, “When I can’t tell you not to!” Needless to say, this disease was hard on both of us. My wife worried but was always there to help. If I was having an anxiety attack because I couldn’t breathe, she rubbed my back and that meant the world to me knowing someone was right there with me.

About two years ago, I began needing oxygen. Carrying that canister around wore me out, so I got an air concentrator that’s only half the weight. I took Advair^®, Combivent^®, Albuterol^® when needed, and prednisone as a backup. Over time, I could feel the medications working less and less for my symptoms. I felt myself slowly slipping away. I told my wife we need to get our stuff in order because I don’t feel like I’m going to be here for long.

I heard about the Zephyr Valves from a friend in our park who also heard about them from a friend. Word of mouth is a powerful tool. I was reaching for any straw, so I did my research and found Dr. Do at AdventHealth in Tampa. He was so informative, straight up and honest, and explained all the pros and cons. I completed all of the tests and I was told I was a candidate!

Life Before Zephyr^® Valves:

I was diagnosed with COPD about 15 years ago. After my dad passed away from Alpha-1 emphysema, I was tested and was negative for Alpha-1, but still had COPD and early-stage emphysema at that point. I smoked for 30 years and was finally able to quit eight years ago.

My COPD has had a huge downhill impact on our lifestyle. Essentially I went from being an active outdoor person, to being stuck at home. We had a house on Lake Michigan, and I loved to kayak, camp, and bike. I hunted for 30 years, spending the whole day in the woods. As the disease progressed, I couldn’t do much anymore. Life became very limited. I even had to retire early from my career as a general manager.

My doctor put me on Spiriva^® and ADVAIR DISKUS^® 500/50, and in the early years the medication helped to manage it. As time went on, the medications were less effective, and I had several ER trips because my oxygen levels dropped. I ended up with pneumonia twice and had to be put on steroids and oxygen. As the disease progressed, I needed oxygen regularly, and eventually I couldn’t get by without it. I was on 4 liters of oxygen 24/7 for two years. 

I was seeing a holistic doctor (who was also my neighbor). She had read an article about Zephyr Valves and she recommended I look into it. My regular pulmonary doctor did not agree that the valves were an option for me, so I called Henry Ford directly, had all the testing done, and qualified. I’m on social media and I always tell others with this disease, “Don’t take what your current doctor says…you have to see someone who does the valves to be properly evaluated.” It makes me crazy that my treating doctors didn’t bring this to my attention and maybe I suffered longer than I had to. 

Then came the battle with insurance. I had to fight for coverage with Anthem Blue Cross, and the Pulmonx Reimbursement Team submitted appeals on my behalf. It took eight months, but I got coverage for my valves.