Over 176,000 people across Northern Ireland are living with respiratory conditions which are diseases that affect the lungs and airways, people like Helen Gage from Kells. Helen has COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and is sharing her story to raise awareness of chest conditions.
Helen recalls; “A few years ago I kept getting chest infections and having to get antibiotics. It was one chest infection after the other, and then I started getting kidney infections too- if it wasn't one, it was the other. This kept happening and I was getting increasingly tired with it.”
“I had couple of weeks off work and was due to go back but I just knew I wasn’t well enough. I felt short of breath and had no energy, so I went to the out of hours doctor, and she sent me to A&E at Antrim Area Hospital. They did a chest x-ray, and told me I had COPD and pneumonia.”
“I was really, really shocked. I thought I would have known if I had pneumonia but then my colleagues told me I had been coughing for months. I didn’t feel the effects I thought you would feel when you have pneumonia.”
“I had been a smoker of at least 20 per day but when I got home from hospital I wanted to give up for good, so I went to the pharmacist, and they put me on a smoking cessation programme. I've never looked back and haven’t smoked since. Before that I had been trying to give up smoking for years.”
Talking about how she came into contact with Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS), Helen says; The local health trust referred me to NICHS and Darren, one of the Care Services Coordinators, came out to see me. Darren signposted me to a lot of groups, courses and services. He gave me lots of great information which has all been very helpful. For example, with diet, I didn't realise how much harm I was doing to myself with a lot of the stuff I was eating.”
“I was contacted about doing pulmonary rehab through my health trust and I wasn’t sure about it, but Darren encouraged me to go, and I loved it! I enjoyed the exercise element of it and signed up for the gym after the course finished and now go a few days a week.”
“I have completed NICHS’s Breathing Better Education Programme which helped me learn more about my health and how to manage my condition more positively. It covers topics such as breathing techniques, sleeping, and other areas and I found it really effective, I enjoyed the programme.”
“The advice from NICHS is so good and helpful. Some of it might seem simple, but it is so effective. Anything I need help with I can ring Darren, and he rings me too to catch up on how things are going with me, tell me about any new programmes and so on. Darren is great, he’s so knowledgeable and I can talk to him about anything. He cares about his job, and he cares about people.”
“All the help from NICHS has helped set me on a good path but I also had the want to change, to try something new. I wanted to do whatever I could to help myself on my journey. Between making changes to my lifestyle, giving up smoking, joining the gym and eating better, along with NICHS’s support, the difference it has made to my health has been significant.”
Speaking about becoming an NICHS Hope Hero and featuring on artwork in hospital respiratory wards Helen says; “I didn’t know about all the things NICHS offers which is why I’m delighted to be part of the Wall of Hope. Hopefully sharing my story will help make more people aware of what NICHS can do to help them.”
“I would recommend NICHS to everyone and urge others to get in touch if they might need help and support.”
