u/Flat_Tea1973

My mom is 74 and Stage 4. She had a flare-up a little over a month ago, and they removed 6 of her 9 zephyr valves. She's been living with me since that flare-up.

She had a follow-up appointment on Friday, and she was feeling really great early in the day. The day was tough on her; however, she was quickly exhausted. She was asleep by 7:00 that night.

She continued to have issues breathing throughout the weekend. She was so weak last night, that she asked me to sleep in her room. I did.

Today, she seemed to be slightly better in the morning, but by the afternoon was worse than she'd been. She had a strange delusion that she was very confused and upset by. She had never had one before. We took her temperature, and she had a fever of 100.4, so I called her nurse. She suggested we call an ambulance, which I did.

When she was admitted, her C02 was 119. They have her on a BiPAP machine, which is slowly lowering her CO2 levels. She is sleeping soundly, but occasionally she will wake up, and I have to remind her of what the BiPAP is and that she needs to keep it on.

My worry/concern is: will the elevated CO2 cause permanent brain damage? Has anyone had an event like this and come back home from it? I don't want to catastrophize, but I also want to be realistic.

Hi. I'm new to Reddit, and I made this account to...maybe try and find support? See if there are alternative solutions? Vent? I'm not really sure. But, here I am. I'm 45. My mom is 74.

She was diagnosed with COPD maybe 15-ish years ago. She's been on a steady decline since. She's now stage 4 and moved in with me, my husband, and our 6 year old last month.

She's on oxygen 24/7. She is on all sorts of meds, including nebulizer treatments. She has had 3 Zephyr valve procedures. They kept moving and not functioning properly, so the doctors have kept going in to reposition/remove them. She moved in with me after the latest procedure, where they removed 6 valves and kept 3 in. She is now down to 13% lung function.

I help her with basic stuff - making meals, coffee, laundry, bathing (although she keeps saying she has been too worn out to take a bath, and I'm not sure when to push it).

She has good days and bad days. She gets up, goes to the bathroom, walks to the kitchen table, etc (although she spends most of her time in her room reading, doing sudoku, and watching TV). The lack of oxygen is also causing short-term memory loss, and that's probably the hardest part.

I guess I have a few questions for you all in the COPD Reddit community:

1. Do others have these issues with the Zephyr valves shifting, requiring multiple bronchoscopies?

2. What are ways I can best help her recover at this stage? Are there things I can do/push her to do that might help her regain some lung function? She had been going to pulmonary rehab when she lived alone, but has not seemed interested since this last flair up.

3. Are there any alternative approaches (supplements, diets, breathing exercises) that others have has success with that I could add to her routine?

Thank you all for taking the time to read my post. It's really been lovely having my mom at home, connecting, and spending time with her.