I am taking a risk with this post, since I have family members who read my blog as well as close family friends. But I am frustrated and angered right now at not just the medical community but also my mother.
For those of you who don’t know, my mom is sick. In addition to severe rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes, she also has a disease called COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). This disease is very similar to emphysema but is an accumulation of several factors that make it in many ways worse. She has chronic bronchitis, severe asthma in addition to the symptoms of emphysema essentially. She is on 2 litres of oxygen at all times, takes so many different medications, I can’t keep track of all their names or remember just exactly how many there are that she takes in a day. She also chooses to still smoke. I know addiction is a disease, and she says she really wants to quit, but after a comment she made to me once, I can’t help but wonder just how much she wants too.
