Breathe Well and Live Well with videos and podcasts
St Wilfrid’s Hospice is launching a series of helpful videos and podcasts called – Breathe Well, Live Well. Packed with easy to follow practical tips and techniques, aimed at giving the local community the means to combat breathlessness from the comfort of home. Breathlessness is a very common symptom encountered in West Sussex, with respiratory diseases second only to cancers in terms of most attributable causes of death year to year.
Last year St Wilfrid’s Hospice made over 3,000 end-of-life care-related home visits, and now in the current climate these personal meetings are more precious to people than ever.
Mick Harmsworth was given weeks to live just a few years ago, but after being referred to St Wilfrid’s Hospices’ Breath Well programme he was able to find a new lease of life despite the limitations imposed by his terminal disease.
Mick said: “I wasn’t coping but making out that I was. Breathlessness, it’s like someone is slowly trying to stop you breathing, like suffocation, and you have to fight for one more breadth.
“Having been taught how to handle that initial feeling – ‘I can’t breathe’ – and the panic that makes it so you can’t breathe even more, well you are being taught to slow it down, step by step, and calm yourself. This support from St Wilfrid’s has made it possible for me to enjoy time with my grandchildren. It’s like getting a bit of your life back.”
Chris Rawson, Living Well services manager, said: “We hope people find this series useful, interesting and reassuring. Our hope is with each episode they will find breathing a little easier, feel a little calmer and be better able to cope with any breathing difficulties experienced.”
Those living with anyone with a serious respiratory condition can also benefit from listening and watching the Breathe Well series, so that they know how best to support a loved one.
Visit stwh.co.uk/breathewell to watch or listen to the first episodes released online or request a DVD/CD copy with a guide straight to your door by emailing Livingwelldayservices@stwh.co.uk