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Channel: Healthline Health Blogger Holly McBain - One Breath at a Time
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Welcome to My World

Hi! Welcome to my blog concerning the trials and tribulations as a caregiver for my mom, who has Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD. I am humbled to be involved with Healthline.com as a...

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Do Not Resuscitate: The Reality of a DNR

It was March 2010, and my father-in-law was dying of COPD. He had been in an acute care hospital for a week after spending more than a month in the hospital. As my husband, my mother-in-law, and I made...

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How to Decompress and Cope as a Caregiver

Unlike visiting or live-in nurses (who have shift changes), a caregiver for a loved one stricken with COPD and living in your home rarely has a break from the daily activities—you are on duty 24/7, 365...

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Sometimes it’s Not COPD

It was April 2011 when my Mom complained that she couldn’t breathe very well and felt weak. She had no fever, but had just completed a course of antibiotics due to allergy drainage. She almost always...

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Developing Good Communication

Over the years as a caregiver, I have learned it is extremely important that my Mother tells me how she is feeling. It is also important that I pick up on any cues that are indicators of potential...

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Be a Proactive Caregiver

What exactly is a “proactive caregiver”? To me, this means I take the initiative at every step; especially with doctors. Why? Because I am not a doctor, nor a nurse, and I want everything explained to...

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How my Mother was diagnosed with COPD

It was early in 2006 when my mom came down with a cold or allergies or both. She is never really sure which or what it was. She was still living on her own, in her own home, and still smoking. She was...

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Handling the Anti-Oxygen Phenomenon

As a caregiver to someone with COPD who is required to be on oxygen 24/7, I sometimes encounter the “I no longer need Oxygen” or “I no longer need this medicine” phenomenon. This generally happens...

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A Day in the Life of a Caregiver to a Parent

At first thought, you might think it would make it easier to be a caregiver if the patient is your parent. You already know one another, have a history together, and have established a rapport....

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Dealing with the Hospitalist Physician

Every time my mother exacerbates her COPD and is hospitalized, I end up dealing with the Hospitalist, a physician employed at the hospital who is the primary caregiver for her. Although the Hospitalist...

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The Emotional Toll COPD takes on the Patient

My father-in-law passed away in 2010 from COPD and I helplessly watched him wither away. The last 6 months of his life were the most emotionally stressing for him and for those who loved him. Each...

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Keeping Weight On

My mother is 82 years old and for most of her life she has always been thin and a picky eater. She often likes to say “I don’t live to eat, I eat to live”. However I always see that sentiment thrown...

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COPD: The Importance of Equipment Maintenance

A patient suffering from COPD has a great deal of equipment and medicine which requires maintenance and proper handling. My mother, a COPD patient, has portable oxygen canisters, a canister holder that...

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