MAY 10

MAY 5

MAY 1 MAY 5 MAY 25

BREATH SAVERSCope; don’t mope.

210 W. San Bernardino Road • P.O. Box 6108Covina, CA 91722-5108

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

SENIOR EDITOR: CaroleWilson

ASSISTANTS: Rita SullivanLucy Brejcha

CIRCULATION: Rita Sullivan

ADVISOR: Nancy Anderson

Items printed in Our Daily Breath newsletter are fromsources we believe to be reliable, but of course, they cannotnor are they intended to replace the care and advice of yourown personal physician. Inter-Community Hospital and theOur Daily Breath newsletter assume no responsibility forany medical treatment undertaken by any individual, and wesuggest you check with your physician for applications ofany techniques into your personal program.

Program: Magic of Chazz Presented by: Chazz the Magician

Place: Inter-Community HospitalConference Center

Date: Thursday, May 21

Time: 12 p.m. lunchRSVP for lunch at (626) 915-62831 p.m. program

ur DailyBREATHA newsletter published by PULMONARY REHABILITATION

Inter-Community Hospital

Cope;don’t

mope.

VOLUME XIX NUMBER 5 MAY 2015

ur DailyBREATH

Message from Nance...I was thinking about this quote and the month of May. I spent my childhood in New England.My recollection of May1st was to make May Day baskets out of construction paper, put flowersin them from our garden and deliver them to the doorsteps or doorknobs of our neighbors.This all happened before I went to school (of course, I had help from my three sisters and mymom). I look back at that tradition and smile for I know that a small gesture of sharing the beautyof spring flowers started someone’s day off well. It doesn’t have to be flowers. It can be a smile, a hello,or a compliment. It takes no extra time or cost, but what a way to start someone’s day! Kindness is priceless, just like our moms.Mother’s Day is coming up on May 10. It is a day to celebrate and honor our mothers and to say “thank you.” My mom taughtme about kindness to others through her own words and actions. She showed me that even in the midst of conflict orconfrontation that kindness and love will always prevail. I didn’t realize or appreciate until I was much older what a terrificmother she was, always demonstrating kindness. So, thanks, Mom, for being the greatest and loving me as I am. Wishing all youmothers a terrific day wherever you are. Know that when you become a MOTHER it is for a lifetime, and as children wecouldn’t have made it without you. Thank you!

“Mothers hold their children’s hands for a short while but their hearts forever.” ~ UNKNOWN

Be well, and remember to breathe and move...Nance

OUR “SO SMART”PULMONARY REHAB GRADUATES:

Bernie Meijer, Blair Capek, Cazeno Lu,Diana Herring, Edward Sakamoto,Teresa Castillon, Ernie Esquivel

GETWELLWISHES & PRAYERS TO:

Carole Irwin, Diana Tafoya,JimWeingarten, Patricia Sanchez,

Pat Birdsall, Julie Leau,Lucy Brejcha, Robyn Markic

DONATIONS TO BREATH SAVERS:

Rose Ann Brandenstein, Teresa Castillon

In memory of Alan W. Cox: Eutimio Navarrette

In memory of Amelita Rapadas: Rodolfo Rapadas

Our next Breath Savers meeting will be held on Thursday,May 21, 2015. Lunch will be offered at noon for $7. Youmay bring your own lunch if you prefer. Our menu will bethe following: chicken Caesar salad (made to order),breadsticks, and fruit kabobs for dessert. The program isFREE and starts at1p.m. Ready for a relaxing, entertaining,and fun-filled afternoon? Come join us and bring a friendto the Magic of Chazz by Chazz the Magician.Weanticipate a full house so RSVP early. Please let us know ifyou will be joining us for lunch no later than Tuesday,May 19, 2015, by calling (626) 915-6283. See you there!DON’T FORGET an item for Ebay, and you will receiveone free raffle ticket.

Our last Breath Savers meeting was GREAT! Despite technicaldifficulties, Dr. Juan Carlos Quiros gave an outstanding presentationof Cardiac Rhythms. It was clear, informative, and easily understoodby the audience. I loved his analogy that the heart was a house. Thechambers are the walls, the valves are the doors, the plumbing is thearteries and veins, and the rhythm is the electrical. Dr. Quirosanswered all questions clearly and the audience went home with abetter understanding of cardiac rhythms. Thank you, Dr. Quiros, fortaking time out of your busy schedule to present such a wonderfulprogram. Also a big thank you to Julie Stovall and Carol Urlie forproviding the wonderful “house” centerpieces and for those whogave back the money from the opportunity drawing to Breath Savers –Ferdinand Kuhn and Bob Suhadolnik.

Spring Cleaning…Support our Ebay GARAGE SALE! It is a great way to support and give back to Breath Savers. It is easyand free for you, and ALL proceeds go to the scholarship fund. All you have to do when you start your spring cleaning is toset aside one or two items that you can part with and bring them to our next meeting. You will receive a free raffle ticket, oryou may bring your donation to the Outpatient Cardiopulmonary Department any weekday. We are looking for small itemsthat are easy to mail. Please call Julie Stovall at (626) 332-2047 if you have any questions. We need your help! Thank you forall your efforts.

“How beautifula day can be when kindness

touches it.”~ George Alliston

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Pulmonary Fibrosis is a disease in which tissue deep in your lungs becomes thick and stiff, or scarred,over time. The formation of scar tissue is called fibrosis.

As the lung tissue thickens, your lungs can’t properly move oxygen into your bloodstream. As a result, yourbrain and other organs don’t get the oxygen they need. (See How the Lungs Work, which follows.)

Sometimes doctors can find out what’s causing fibrosis. But in most cases, they can’t find a cause. Theycall these cases Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).

IPF is a serious disease that usually affects middle-aged and older adults. IPF varies from person to person.In some people, fibrosis happens quickly. In others, the process is much slower. In some people, the diseasestays the same for years.

IPF has no cure yet. Many people live only about three to five years after diagnosis. The most commoncause of death related to IPF is respiratory failure. Other causes of death include pulmonary hypertension,heart failure, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, and lung cancer.

Genetics may play a role in causing IPF. If more thanone member of your family has IPF, the disease iscalled familial IPF.

Research has helped doctors learn more about IPF. As aresult, they can more quickly diagnose the disease nowthan in the past. Also, researchers are studying severalmedicines that may slow the progress of IPF. Theseefforts may improve the lifespan and quality of life forpeople who have the disease.

How the Lungs Work

To understand Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, it helps tounderstand how the lungs work. The air that you breathein through your nose or mouth travels down through yourtrachea (windpipe) into two tubes in your lungs calledbronchial tubes or airways.

The airways are shaped like an upside-down tree withmany branches. The windpipe is the trunk. It splits intotwo bronchial tubes, or bronchi. Thinner tubes calledbronchioles branch out from the bronchi.

National Heart, Lung,and Blood Institute

What is Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis?

Figure A shows the location of the lungs andairways in the body. The inset image shows adetailed view of the lung’s airways and air sacs incross-section. Figure B shows fibrosis (scarring)in the lungs. The inset image shows a detailed viewof the fibrosis and how it damages the airways andair sacs.

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Just For Laughs! The bronchioles end in tiny air sacs called alveoli. These air sacs have very thin walls, and small blood vesselscalled capillaries run through them. There are about 300 million alveoli in a normal lung.

When the air that you’ve just breathed in reaches these air sacs, the oxygen in the air passes through the air sacwalls into the blood in the capillaries. At the same time, carbon dioxide (a waste gas) moves from the capillariesinto the air sacs. This process is called gas exchange.

The oxygen-rich blood in the capillaries then flows into larger veins, which carry it to the heart. Your heartpumps the oxygen-rich blood to all your body’s organs. These organs can’t function without an ongoing supplyof oxygen.

In IPF, scarring begins in the air sac walls and the spaces around them. The scarring makes the walls of the airsacs thicker. This makes it harder for oxygen to pass through the air sac walls into the bloodstream.

Other Names for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis• Idiopathic Diffuse Interstitial Pulmonary Fibrosis• Pulmonary Fibrosis of unknown cause• Pulmonary Fibrosis• Cryptogenic Fibrosing Alveolitis• Usual Interstitial Pneumonitis• Diffuse Fibrosing Alveolitis

Senior Coffee BreakA group of seniors were sitting at a local coffee shop talking about all their ailments.

“My arms have gotten so weak I can hardly lift this cup of coffee,” one said.

“Yes, I know,” said another.

“My cataracts are so bad; I can’t even see my coffee.”

“I couldn’t even mark an ‘X’ at election time because my hands are so crippled,” volunteered a third.

“What? Speak up! What? I can’t hear you,” said one elderly lady.

“I can’t turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck,” said one, to whichseveral nodded weakly in agreement.

“My blood pressure pills make me so dizzy!” exclaimed another.

“I forget where I am, and where I’m going,” said another.

“I guess that’s the price we pay for getting old,” winced an old manas he slowly shook his head. The others nodded in agreement.

“Well, count your blessings,” said a woman cheerfully:

“Thank God we can all still drive!!!!!!”

– From the InternetNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute site

Answer on page

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– Garnered from the Internet

Mother’s Day HistoryContrary to popular belief, Mother’s Day was not

conceived and fine-tuned in the boardroom ofHallmark. The earliest tributes to mothers date backto the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated toRhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offeringsancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods,Cybele. Christians celebrated this festival on thefourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary,mother of Christ. In England this holidaywas expanded to include all mothers and wascalled Mothering Sunday.

In the United States, Mother’s Day startednearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker,organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believedwould be best advocated by mothers. She called it “Mother's Work Day.”

Fifteen years later, JuliaWard Howe, a Boston poet, pacifist, suffragist, and author of the lyrics to the“Battle Hymn of the Republic,” organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since shebelieved they bore the loss of human life more harshly than anyone else.

In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize thelife work of her mother. Legend has it that young Anna remembered a Sunday school lesson that hermother gave in which she said, “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorialmother’s day. There are many days for men, but none for mothers.”

Anna began to lobby prominent businessmen like JohnWannamaker, and politicians includingPresidents Taft and Roosevelt to support her campaign to create a special day to honor mothers. At oneof the first services organized to celebrate Anna’s mother in 1908, at her church in West Virginia, Annahanded out her mother’s favorite flower, the white carnation. Five years later, the House ofRepresentatives adopted a resolution calling for officials of the federal government to wear whitecarnations on Mother’s Day. In 1914 Anna’s hard work paid off whenWoodrowWilson signed a billrecognizing Mother’s Day as a national holiday.

At first, people observed Mother’s Day by attending church, writing letters to their mothers, andeventually, by sending cards, presents, and flowers.With the increasing gift-giving activity associatedwith Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis became enraged. She believed that the day’s sentiment was beingsacrificed at the expense of greed and profit. In 1923 she filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother’s Day festival,and was even arrested for disturbing the peace at a convention selling carnations for a war mother’sgroup. Before her death in 1948, Jarvis is said to have confessed that she regretted ever starting themother’s day tradition.

Despite Jarvis’s misgivings, Mother’s Day has flourished in the United States. In fact, the second Sundayof May has become the most popular day of the year to dine out, and telephone lines record theirhighest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take advantage of this day to honor and to expressappreciation of their mothers.

What is shingles (herpes zoster)?

Shingles, also called herpes zoster or zoster, is apainful skin rash caused by the varicella zoster

virus (VZV). VZV is the same virus that causeschickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox,the virus stays in the body. Usually the virus does notcause any problems; however, the virus can reappearyears later, causing shingles.

Shingles usually starts as a rash on one side of theface or body. The rash starts as blisters that scabafter 3 to 5 days. The rash usually clears within 2 to 4weeks. Before the rash develops, there is often pain,itching, or tingling in the area where the rash willdevelop. Other symptoms of shingles can includefever, headache, chills, and upset stomach.

Can shingles be spread to others? Why do we isolatepatients with shingles? Shingles cannot be passedfrom one person to another. However, the virus thatcauses shingles, VZV, can be spread from a person with active shingles to a person who has never hadchickenpox through direct contact with the rash. The person exposed would develop chickenpox, not shingles.The virus is not spread through sneezing, coughing or casual contact. A person with shingles can spread thedisease when the rash is in the blister-phase. Once the rash has developed crusts, the person is no longercontagious. A person is not infectious before blisters appear or with post-herpetic neuralgia (pain after therash is gone).