Many people assume that the longer they live, the less capable they are of improving various aspects of their lives. For example, some people take for granted that you can’t learn a musical instrument as an adult. These people are often told throughout their lives by their parents or friends that if you want to learn something complex, you have to start when you’re younger. It’s also assumed that you’ll stop progressing very early on in your life.

Oxygen is the most essential property of life, yet many people don't even have the ability to utilize oxygen properly due to chronic conditions such as Chronic Pulmonary Respiratory Disease (COPD). COPD is an illness that obstructs your airways either due to excess mucus clogging your airways, or your airways becoming swollen, or a mixture of both of these conditions. 

With around 65 million patients worldwide, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is anything but uncommon. In fact, it’s one of the most prevalent lung conditions in the world behind asthma. However, despite these statistics, COPD is labeled an “invisible illness.” Many people suffer with this condition in silence, and society as a whole tends to stigmatize it by misunderstanding what its causes are and what life is like with this condition.

For people with COPD, life is often filled with uncertainty: uncertainty about health, uncertainty about the future, and uncertainty about how bad your symptoms will be on a given day. That's why it's especially important for people with COPD have a safe, familiar place to retreat to when they need to get away from the stresses and inconveniences of the outside world.

If you are ill with a chronic lung disease, you have likely experienced hypoxemia or hypoxia or both, these conditions limit the amount of oxygen your body is able to generate and so it greatly impacts your health. Breathlessness, fatigue, and insomnia are three of the prime symptoms associated with hypoxemia and hypoxia but all of the symptoms can be mitigated and managed with the help of supplemental oxygen therapy.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the diseases with the greatest financial burdens worldwide and within the United States. Studies have shown that the average annual COPD-related expenditure is around $4,147. And while 51% of these costs are covered by Medicare according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that still leaves roughly $2,000 a year that COPD patients need to spend out-of-pocket. Combine this with the cost of aging and limited retirement funds and it’s not hard to see why COPD is such a major financial burden for so many people.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a debilitating lung condition that affects around 16 million people in the United States. While there are many symptoms of COPD, shortness of breath, chest pain, and chronic fatigue are among the most crippling. In the early stages of COPD, these symptoms are mild and sometimes even go unnoticed by the patient. However, as time goes by, these symptoms become progressively worse and become even more of a burden for the victim.

From managing short- and long-term goals to exercising, eating right, and making it to doctor’s appointments, living with COPD is not easy by any means. Whether you are still working or you’ve already retired, being diagnosed with COPD means taking on a whole new set of responsibilities — some of which can be overwhelming at times.

It is a lifelong challenge to live with a respiratory disease, whether it is COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, sleep apnea, or any other chronic illness that makes even the most simple activities harder than it once was.