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Caring for Individuals with COPD
Taking Care of the Caregiver
“The overwhelming emotion that many
caregivers feel in their role is guilt,” said Anzalone.
“You always feel like you’re not doing enough, but it’s
important to create balance between caring for the
COPDer and caring for yourself.”
Toward that end, caregivers should:
-
Take breaks
-
Get assistance from others as much
as possible
-
Exercise and eat a balanced diet
-
Connect with other caregivers who
have experience with COPD – and understand its
special challenges
For caregivers, putting themselves first
isn’t always easy. To understand why optimizing your own
well-being is so critical for helping others, consider
the analogy of an oxygen mask on an airplane: You have
to put your own mask on first before you can begin to
help others.
John W. Walsh, who was diagnosed
with Alpha-1-related genetic COPD in 1989, is the
Co-Founder and President of the COPD Foundation, a
not-for-profit organization dedicated to developing and
supporting programs which improve the quality of life
through research, education, early diagnosis and
enhanced therapy for persons whose lives are impacted by
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). He is also
the Co-Founder of the Alpha-1 Foundation (a research
organization) and AlphaNet, Inc. (a unique,
not-for-profit disease management services company run
by and for patients). He can be reached at
jwwalsh@copdfoundation.org
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