My Breathing Story

Our Breathing Story: Kelly & Oliver Bell

“Our diagnosis was a long journey of a cough that went undiagnosed. We were in and out of the doctors until Oliver was three years old. We tried everything; antihistamines because they thought it was allergies, saline drops, putting him the shower with lots of steam, liquid Vicks. But it just wasn’t working. He barely slept and he would sometimes cough so hard that he would vomit.”

“One night, it was really bad, and I just knew it wasn’t right, so I called an ambulance. He got taken to hospital and put on a nebuliser. His oxygen level had dropped really low. Finally, at that point, the paediatrician referred us to the paediatric respiratory health clinic in Hastings where we met Nora (the clinical nurse specialist). She listened to that cough and said ‘Oh, he’s got asthma’ and everything changed for us then. That diagnosis changed his life.” “Once he was put on a preventer inhaler, he went from pretty much 0% sleep to sleeping for several hours at a time which was huge for our whole family. He had this really bad postnasal drip which made his cough so much worse when he was lying down. “

“Nora worked with us to develop this amazing asthma plan which makes sure that his asthma never gets off the ground. That plan is like our gold handbook! Thanks to Nora, we know now what tools we need if his asthma ramps up and we feel like experts on his asthma now. Nora filled in that asthma knowledge gap. We feel safe now, whereas before we didn’t feel safe at all."

“It took a bit of time to find the medication and dosage that works best for him. Nora really went the extra mile to help us. I could text her when I needed, and she provided emergency scripts to help us during lockdowns.” “I look at Oliver now and I know that he can do whatever he wants in his future. We were at the hot pools the other day and he was able to jump in and out of the water, and I didn’t need to worry about the temperature change affecting his asthma because it’s under control.”

“My advice to other parents would be get your GP to refer you to your local respiratory clinic and get educated. Find out how to use your inhaler properly, ask lots of questions and utilise all the resources available to you. If you are worried about a cough, then make sure you check it out.”

Annette’s COPD Story

Annette Reece is an active member of the Kawerau community, a well-known swim coach, an umpire for outdoor bowls, a volunteer for multiple community groups, an avid knitter for charity, and she lives with the respiratory condition COPD.

The 81-year old has lived with asthma her entire life, but was diagnosed with COPD nearly 12 years ago after experiencing an increase in breathlessness symptoms. “I found I couldn’t walk the length of the hallway, which was very frustrating for me,” she recalls.

She has found her background as a swimming coach, to be an advantage in learning to manage her condition. “When you learn to swim, you learn diaphragmatic breathing, and this breathing is also really helpful when managing breathlessness. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but you definitely can. Learning breathing techniques really helps, as does knowing when and how to take medication.”

With her condition managed, Annette is able to continue with her many community commitments including volunteering at the local op shop, driving other locals to hospital appointments and calling the weekly bingo sessions. However, when she is unwell, the impact of COPD is more evident. “I had a bad flu three months ago and it took me three weeks to recover, when usually it would have been a week.”

Annette is a regular attendee at the Kawerau COPD group and says the companionship and support from this group has been very helpful in learning to live with the condition.