An Expiration Date
An Expiration Date As some of you may be aware, I have been dealing with ‘shortness of breath’ issues since 2015. Finally, in this past year, it was properly diagnosed as COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). My particular diagnosis deals more with chronic bronchitis than with emphysema. At my last breathing test and pulmonologist appointment, my disease was re-staged. I now have stage 3 (severe) COPD, which carries with it something of an expiration date. I now have a 1 in 2 chance of surviving 5 years. And that does not consider my already damaged heart, which this particular disease is known to be very unfriendly to. The symptoms are unpleasant, make life increasingly difficult, and will culminate in my inability to breathe without mechanical assistance (ventilator), assistance which I intend to politely decline. When that day comes, I will hopefully have already signed up for hospice care and a dignified end of life. So, what is all this like? How do I feel about t