COPD And Strong Life Force

A strong life force
By Nicole Laskowski
Thu Apr 03, 2008, 12:31 PM EDT
Arlington, Mass. -

Arlington, Mass. - Prudy Bulger never really knew what chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or chronic bronchitis and emphysema, was until she was diagnosed with it 15 years ago. That was after she started realizing that the simple act of walking was wearing her out more than it used to, after she was admitted to Boston City Hospital because her airways had become so constricted, she was barely able to breathe. After she had a chest x-ray and a handful of breathing tests to find out just what was going on with her. When the doctors reached a diagnosis, Bulger was frightened and didn’t know what she was going to do.

But the biggest concern for Bulger wasn’t the diagnosis alone. It’s that her lungs were deteriorating at such a young age. Bulger is only 56 years old. Ten years ago, she had 25 percent lung capacity. Today, she only has 13 percent capacity. Now she’s hooked up to an Oxygen tank at all times and even has to wear a machine at night to help remove the carbon dioxide build up from her body.

“I’m so young, and the damage is so great that the doctors think some of this might be inherited,” she said. It’s not just her inherent level of susceptibility that may have contributed to her diagnosis. When Bulger was 13 years old, she remembers waking up to electrical fire in the middle of the night. Being what she described as “the rescuer” of the family, Bulger wouldn’t leave the dense smoke until she knew that her parents and all four siblings had successfully vacated the home.

Bulger also said she realizes that her almost thirty years as a light smoker didn’t help matters, which is why she gave that up nearly 10 years ago when she started having trouble breathing.

“I’m not ready to go, that’s for sure,” she said.
Because her breathing is so constricted, she has two aides who come to her home and take care of the shopping and cleaning, sometimes even washing her hair because Bulger finds the task so exhausting. While she’s homebound, she said she’s not an invalid. But she admits that without the help of her aides, she would not be able to stay on top of keeping healthy.

Bulger is now waiting for a lung transplant, her only hope for survival. To help with her chances, Bulger has been traveling back and forth between Arlington and the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio where the waitlist for a lung transplant is much shorter.

Her out-of-pocket expenses, though, in travel and hotel stays are starting to add up, forcing Bulger to borrow money from friends and balance her budget as strictly as possible. And now she’s looking ahead. She knows that it’s going to cost quite a bit of money to have the operation itself. While the operation will be covered by her insurance, it won’t pay for the airfare or the month she may have to stay in the hospital in order to recover. Because Bulger is homebound, she can’t work to save the money. Instead, she’s borrowing from friends, living as strictly as possible on the disability money she receives and is even in the beginning stages of planning a fundraiser in June with the help of one of her aides.

“I have a very strong life force,” she said. “I don’t know where it comes from. I want to live so badly.”

If you are interested in helping Bulger, make checks payable to the Prudy Bulger Transplant Fund. Mail checks to: TD Banknorth, 880 Mass. Ave., Arlington, MA 02476.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/arlington/homepage/x79620820