"Pulmonary Rehab group met at Jordanthorpe Health Centre"

**On 2nd March 2015, the Pulmonary Rehab group met at Jordanthorpe Health Centre and invited us to hear about their experiences about health services locally. Members live with a variety of respiratory conditions. The quotes below are in their words. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their time, honesty and help with developing the Sheffield Respiratory Strategy. **

"Coming here has taught me to breathe properly. Please keep these sessions going! It’s good to meet people too. I haven’t been since before Christmas and today is my first session and I’ve really missed it. We have lots of laughs – especially with the music that can be pan-pipes or rock n roll! "

"The medicines really help as it helps to break up the phlegm. "

"The issue with antibiotics is difficult – I question myself and think ‘am I coming down with a chest infection? ’ I know that if my sputum is green then it’s a chest infection but I also know that if I keep coughing it might become clear, which isn’t a chest infection, so it’s a bit confusing. I’m aware that they have a problem with the antibiotics now cos people are taking them too often and then they stop working. "

"I was told I’d got bronchitis but they’d got it wrong – I’d got asthma. Since I got my inhalers it’s helped a lot. "

"These sessions are great. Exercise is most what is needed and the staff have explained how my lungs work and that’s made such a difference. "

"This is my second pulmonary rehab time and I think it’s 40% mental and 60% from the affliction. This is something you’ve got to live with. "

"I’ve just finished my first course of IV antibiotics – I’ve been in hospital for just over a week. It was recommended last October that I go in but I wanted to wait until after Christmas. By that time I couldn’t go to the bottom of the garden without losing my breath and it was awful what I was bringing up. I’m now feeling much better and have come here to get the exercise part. "

! I’ve always had a problem walking up hill. I do up classic cars up and it got more and more difficult. I went from being able to do it for a few hours, to a couple of hours to less than one. So, I’ve ended up here. My lungs aren’t as supple as they used to be. This will be my third time at pulmonary rehab. "

"I’ve had lots of mucus but when I’ve had chest x-rays they’ve been clear. I can’t walk very far, especially not on an incline, before I’m out of breath. When I think about it, I had similar problems years ago, but I wasn’t as bad. When I’ve been to Majorca the air there hasn’t helped – it’s like being here in winter. My father had emphysema and I’m hoping I won’t get it as bad as he had it. This is my first time here, sixth session. I’m alright when I’m here but when I’m walking upstairs at home I don’t feel so good. "

"With chest infections, I just go to bed for a couple of days, sweat it out and I get it out by doing that. Coming here has been good. I can now walk all the way upstairs without stopping. I keep doing my exercises and I’ve just got to hope that I don’t get a really bad chest infection. I don’t want to get as bad as my dad – he had a bottle of oxygen in the house. My medication helps although the steroids cause me problems with my arms – I need to get them bandaged up. "

"I’ve got everything in place that I need. I had polio when I was 13 and I’ve been managing since. If I have any problems I know what to do. "

"This is all new to me. I’m still trying to make sense of it. I’ve had chest infections since getting COPD and I feel as though I’m going slowly downhill. I’ve been caring for a family member and I’ve been struggling with depression but since I’ve got a little job and have been working it’s done the trick. I’ve got a taxi here today but I’ll be trying to walk home to get my exercise in. I seem to have lost a bit of myself in all this. "

"Before he went in, what he was coughing up, was disgusting. He went to see a doctor at the NGH and he told him to go into hospital in October but he wanted to get Christmas out of the way. I’ve just had to keep smiling through all of it. I called an ambulance in the end. Since he’s come out it’s made a different man of him. He’s a lot, lot better. He feels as though he wants to do things now. The nurses are magic – fantastic! "