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Breathe easy with Pulmonary Rehabilitation
That's because two weeks ago the 61-year-old Martins Creek resident couldn't even sit in her easy chair without using oxygen. Doris was severely limited in her activities. She required constant oxygen therapy with a special nasal cannula and long plastic tubing connected to a metal oxygen tank which had to be carried everywhere with her. Even as a child, Doris had long-standing breathing problems. "My asthma was real bad back then," Doris said. She knows now smoking for ten years didn't help but added she kicked the habit over 15 years ago. Over the years Doris simply coped with being short of breath. She loved her work as a cook at the John Campbell Folk School, but realized her last week of work that she just couldn't catch her breath. Ending up in the hospital, she was diagnosed with a serious bout of pneumonia and dangerously low oxygen blood levels. Her Asheville physician recommended the newly opened pulmonary rehabilitation program at Murphy Medical Center. She was encouraged but a bit unsure if it would help. "In the past no doctor had ever told me there was something that I could do to help myself," Doris said. After two short weeks of starting the Pulmonary Rehabilitation program at Murphy Medical Center Doris is feeling "so much better". "I have more energy," she said. "Today I walked seven tenths of a mile on the treadmill and rode three and half miles on the bike." On the days Doris doesn't come to rehabilitation she walks on her home treadmill. "It's harder to do at home," she said smiling. "The time passes quickly where you are here (in the Rehabilitation department). It helps if you are depressed too." Staff member Sarah Dupree said Mrs. Phillips has been an excellent patient. "She was a little skeptical at first that we could do much to help her, but she has improved tremendously with her breathing, endurance and strengthening. She really did everything we suggested and has done wonderfully," Dupree said. New to the area, the Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a 12 week, closely monitored program of exercise, education and emotional support for people with chronic lung disease such as emphysema, asthma, bronchitis as well as surgical lung resections from cancer and other diseases. The staff members test a patient's breathing abilities prior, during and after completing the program. Doris recalls her first "O2 sats", a non-invasive test that shows the level of oxygen in the blood, were down to the 50's. Now her "sats" are in the mid 90's. "I feel better and stronger," Doris said adding how proud she is over losing weight as well. "I lost 7 and half pounds in two weeks." Pulmonary rehabilitation is much more than an exercise program. The staff shows patients new breathing techniques to help them conserve energy while improving their oxygen levels. Education is a big component to the rehab process. Remember how you felt when you couldn't quite catch your breath? Scared? Upset? Now imagine that happening every minute, with every breath you take. The relaxation techniques, along with special diaphragmatic breathing and pursed lip breathing, taught to patients as ways to help cope with the panic caused by shortness of breath. "The staff teaches you how to inhale and exhale if you are having problems," Phillips said. "And it really works!" Now Doris feels hope for her future. She uses less than half the oxygen than she did before and feels great. "I would suggest this program to anyone who's had lung or heart problems," Doris said. "I feel great."
To learn more about Pulmonary Rehabilitation at Murphy Medical Center, call Program Director Amy Trout, RN at 835-7656.
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