40,000 Styrians suffer from the so-called “chronic obstructive pulmonary disease”, COPD for short. A self-help group has now invited to the “COPD Challenge” on the Schlossberg in Graz – the motto: “It’s going up”.
260 steps; Step by step and without haste. Ten people from all over Austria with COPD or another lung disease mastered the ascent to the Schlossberg on Thursday: “When you’re there, you’re incredibly happy that you made it at all. You just have to find the right pace,” says one of those affected.
“Do more for the sick”
The event was organized by Judith and Georg Illek, who founded the COPD Austria association four years ago. A self-group for people with COPD and long-term oxygen therapy: “We knew from the start that we had to do more for the sick. Not through lectures, we want to show them directly that it is possible to lead a normal life, that you can have positive experiences.”
A total of 800,000 people in Austria, 40,000 of them in Styria, suffer from COPD, the number of unreported cases is said to be just as high. The shame of going public is often great: “The disease still has the flaw that it is a smoker’s disease and many are embarrassed because they have the feeling that they themselves are to blame for their disease, not entitled to it on recovery and acceptance,” says Illek.
The clinical department for lung diseases at Graz Regional Hospital was nevertheless drastically reduced due to insufficient nursing staff – for those affected “more than a slap in the face!” The situation could only change again in autumn. On the other hand, things went up for the participants of the COPD Challenge on the Schlossberg that day. The clock tower was reached to applause.
2023-06-01 16:52:47
#Day #action #COPD #sufferers #Graz
