PASTIMES FOR PEOPLE WITH COPD OR EMPHYSEMA

IF YOU HAVE SEVERE COPD PR EMPHYSEMA THE CHANCES ARE THAT YOU WILL NOT BE WORKING AND OF COURSE MANY PEOPLE WHO WRITE TO ME SEEM TO SIT ON THEIR SOFAS AND WARCH TV. NOW I HAVE STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF AT LEAST 30 MINUTES A DAY EXCERCISING BUT THAT STILL LEAVES MANY HOURS IF YOU ARE HOUSEBOUND TO FILL. WHAT THEN WILL YOU DO TO FILL UP THOSE HOURS, ESPECIALLY IN BAD WEATHER? HERE ARE A FEW SUGGESTIONS THAT DO NOT INVOLVE TELEVISION.

BUY, BEG OR BORROW A COMPUTER.

YOU CAN GET ONE CHEAPLY THESE DAYS AT SAY PC WORLD OR SECOND HAND IN THE NEWSPAPER.

Get connected to the Internet. If you have a telephone line – ask your friends for the cheapest option. Sons and daughters will help!

BUT I DON’T KNOW HOW TO USE ONE?

I’ve heard that scores of times. Well if you can’t learn yourself with the HOW TO USE THE COMPUTER on the Internet then do what my partner/wife does and join a local class. They are advertised in your local paper or ask or ring up your local Age Concern etc. Obviously it would be better to do this now, or the summer or autumn to avoid infections in the winter. If that frightens you ask a friend or relative to teach you.

BUT WHAT WOULD I USE IT FOR?

Good question. Well you could access my site for a start! And of course all the other sites on COPD. You can send emails to all your computer friends or relatives. Emails are like letters – long or short. You can join clubs on the Internet & make new friends. On the other hand you can just “surf the net”. This means that you can just type in a subject that interests you – say HERONS into a search engine like GOOGLE and you will have loads of information on HERONS!! Although I suspect that not many of you are interested in HERONS. I typed in the words “wicker coffins” the other day and found a wonderful company in Somerset that produced one in 24 hours! Wow!

Well I’m sure that you are interested in something. You can of course write your own “blog” – that means diary & publish it for the world to see. Or produce a web site like mine – maybe not on COPD but on a subject that interests you.

You can save information that you find on the Internet on your own computer and read it at your own leisure. Or send it to someone else.

Perhaps there is a HERON club!!!!!

Most of important of all if you live on your own or are both frail & elderly or want to look for a bargain, you can order your food from any of the big stores and have it delivered to your door - same with DVDs, books and anything you can think of.

And you can write formal letters to people (just like a typewriter) and buy a printer for about £50 and print it out professionally. There is a spelling checker so no more tearing pages from the typewriter!!!

COLLECTING THINGS

Now I’m in no state to be going into charity shops & attending auctions but you might be if you have a car and move about. Specialise. I buy old postcards on WW1 and St. Ives in Cornwall, and mountaineering books. I use the computer to bid for items on Ebay. It is fun and rewarding and doesn’t cost me a lot. Some people collect teapots, coins, stuffed herons (joke!) – let your imagination run riot. I make sure I buy first editions or pre-1945 postcards so that I know they will be worth something when I’m gone. EBAY is good because essentially is an auction room and you have to watch the item to the last few seconds to bid successfully for it. It is a kind of game and keeps you alert.

To be continued