There are times when daily life feels like a huge effort for all of us, and for all the people living with breathlessness every single day life brings many challenges and it can certainly be a struggle! We can all do with a bit of encouragement at times can’t we? Keep going, you can do it!
Shaun created this image with Anna to represent his determination to keep going no matter what! The little cars represent determination and his own fundraising experiences in Rusty Rita (a Reliant Rialto) for Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis. The shattered clock face and the roll of the dice representing how devastating a diagnosis can be.
Never has there been a time when this message is more relevant to people living with breathlessness! The pandemic and its restrictions have led many breathless people and their families to live very limited lives. For some their health may have declined due to lack of activity and difficulties in accessing clinical reviews. For many there hasn’t been much opportunity to be actively involved with others and to be out and about getting fresh air and exercise for a very long time. And now that the government has relaxed all restrictions on the population as a whole, and most people are no longer wearing masks or social distancing, how will people with breathlessness negotiate everyday life?
Sue created this image of the woman watching others while she is sat alone on a bench with Anna to represent how she feels on the edge of normal life. The two faces of the models show how anonymous and overlooked she and others with breathlessness feel. Maybe many with breathlessness feel this even more now that we are meant to be learning to live with Covid-19?
The pandemic has highlighted to us all many aspects of the way things are in the world… We now know what it is like to experience clear skies and lack of pollution thanks to our lockdowns. We now know that air pollution is linked to respiratory illness and mortality. We now know that there are huge inequalities in the health of people throughout this nation and across the world. Will this new awareness be forgotten as we all try to put the pandemic behind us or will we work together to improve the situation for us all and for those with respiratory illness in particular? If you would like to find out more about air pollution and what to do about it then take a look at this Asthma + Lung UK webpage.
Please do bear in mind those who live with breathlessness when you are out and about and help them to feel they can safely take part in society again to the extent they wish to.