HEALTH & BEAUTY
Helping you
If something as second nature
as breathing was to present any challenges, the emotional impact can be as shattering as the physical one. To encourage those with chronic
respiratory conditions to breathe a sigh of relief that there is hope in the future, Breathe Easy is a Rotherham-based support group that organises monthly meet-ups at the unique, state-of-the-art Breathing Space on Badsley Moor Lane. As an industrial town,
Rotherham has a legacy forged on steel and coal. But while the pits have since closed, the coal dust has settled, ingrained into the health of its former workers and their families with a rise in COPD cases. For other people like Wilma who
runs Breathe Easy, their breathing difficulties are the result of a life-
Wilma with Rotarian Graham Hudson Breathe Easy
As you read this, stop for a moment to appreciate the continuous rise and fall in your chest; an everyday movement we often take for granted.
long habit of smoking. Having smoked for 34 years,
Wilma was diagnosed with emphysema age 50 and had to stop working due to the severity of the damage to her lungs. But even now, 18 years on and
despite her own health struggles, she is an inspiration to others that life doesn’t have to be defined by what it says on the medical notes. Wilma has been involved with
Breathe Easy for 16 years and runs the group with her friend Glenda. When dealt with a diagnosis
such as COPD, many people can feel frightened of what will happen in the future, become socially isolated due to limiting activity levels, or are embarrassed by their condition, especially if they need an oxygen supply. Yet services such as Breathe
Easy prove that a bit of moral support goes a long way.
‘‘Being involved in Breathe Easy gives me and those who attend the sessions a reason to get up and go even if we don’t feel like it’’
Garden “Being involved in Breathe Easy
gives me and those who attend the sessions a reason to get up and go even if we don’t feel like it. Before I joined I would have given up so easily but now I’m much more resilient and feel like I have my self worth back. “There are days when the only
thing that gets me up in a morning is my bladder but I also know that I’ve never been the worst on the ward or in the group. We’re all going through the motions differently but we never want to see one another go downhill,” Wilma says. COPD, or Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disorder, is a group of conditions that cause breathing difficulties in people of all ages. Some don’t realise they have it and put their wheezy breathlessness down to a chesty cough that just won’t shift. Time living with COPD can
be spent in and out of hospital for treatment. To offer a peaceful sanctuary
with the time and space to recover, Rotherham was the first town in
Atrium
the country to launch a specialist respite centre for people with lung conditions. Opened in 2008 on the site
of the former Badsley Moor Lane Hospital, Breathing Space was funded by an £11million grant from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust which deputy Prime Minister at the time, John Prescott, helped to achieve. As a patient representative
and a voice for people with medical conditions like herself, Wilma has been involved in the Breathing Space project from the initial bidding process to being a service user. A self-sufficient building
built from breathable materials, Rotherham’s Breathing Space was to be the pilot for a national initiative. However, this came at a similar time to the recession and so funding was cut. Fortunately, Rotherham was
brave enough to stand on its own two feet and, with backing by the council, remained open. Ten years on and having since
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aroundtownmagazine.co.uk
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