Chronic lung disease affects many Oklahomans

Between her medicine and medical treatment, her average yearly out-of-pocket expense is between $5,000 and $7,000, she said.

No cure

John Walsh, co-founder and president of the COPD Foundation, said there is no cure for COPD. Rather, there are a handful of medications that control symptoms relatively well, Walsh said. COPD can cause permanent lung damage.

“We don't have medicines that will regenerate lung tissue that we lose, but that will happen some day,” he said.

Walsh also suffers from COPD. He has 34 percent of his lung function, meaning his lungs work one-third as well as they should.

If you can't function normally, if you can't breathe, nothing else matters, Walsh said.

People with COPD often times stop doing the things they love because of the impact the disease has on them, Walsh said.

“A lot of people will get depressed, and they'll stop doing what they used to be able to do, and they'll put on weight; they'll become obese; they'll develop diabetes,” Walsh said. “It's a vicious cycle, and it's important we get people diagnosed as fast as possible."

It's important for people with COPD to stay active, even if it's simply walking as much as they can muster, he said.

Walsh's ability to function each day is better than it was 10 years ago because he learned “how to take care of myself,” he said.

“If you do what your doctor tells you, and you stay as fit as you possibly can, and you stay active, there's no reason you can't live an all absolutely normal life,” Walsh said.

Long road ahead

Smith knows she has a long road ahead of her, but she also knows she has some control of where that road leads.

That's why she's trying again.

“I never used to worry about the quality of life, but since my surgery, I start to wonder — is there something I should have done differently, or what will I do to change what's happening right now?”