Hi Bobbie, My pulmonologist showed me a model of a lung today. One side was a healthy lung, the other side was a lung with all sorts of diseases. Some were cancer, emphysema was one of them, bronchitis, black lung, and pneumonia. She also showed me pictures of real lungs that had diseases. It was a very informative rehab session today and I really enjoyed it. She also talked about the alveoli, and she talked about cilia. It is the cilia that are the little tiny hairs that sweep out the bad stuff. And she also said that when we smoke, cilia get damaged, but when we quit, they start to reform and come back and start to do their job again. So that is one part of the lung that WILL get better for us. It was because the cilia were damaged that we experienced the smokers cough, and once we quit smoking, and the cilia started coming back the cough went away.
Just keep on the quit train and I'm sure you'll find that you'll be feeling better and better as time goes by. I have problems with my thyroid as well as having COPD. But as the time goes by and I get more involved with Rehab, I'm feeling better and better myself.
