SHORTNESS
OF BREATH - Story
When I first met Morrie he was a very successful sales rep. He was in his early forties, dressed immaculately, and forever talked about golf and the horses. Aside from being a smoker, he was otherwise in good health.
Over the next 10 years he gradually developed chronic lung problems related to his smoking. He is no longer able to work. In fact, he no longer does much at all. He gets very short of breath with even the slightest exertion. On a good day he can walk out to the front gate to get his mail.
These days he rarely gets out of his pygamas. He has everything in his bedroom set around him, in easy reach...his radio, the form-guide, the telephone, his asthma puffers and his cigarettes.
The district nurse helps with his bathing. I usually call to see him each month to renew prescriptions and see how he is getting on. If he develops so much as a cold, his breathing can become much worse and require him to be hospitalized.
We are still encouraging him to stop smoking, to conserve the small amount of functioning lung tissue he has left. He might also be able to have an oxygen cylinder installed at home, for use prior to bathing and going to the toilet. However, the risk of fire and explosion precludes him having home oxygen while he continues to smoke.
It's sad to see Morrie so short of breath all the time, and even sadder that his condition is unlikely to improve.