Early morning,lots of coughing and tightness

Good morning journal,the time is now 6:12am,I have been awake since 4:35am when a coughing fit nearly resulted in me being thrown out of bed due to the severity of it.Finally managed to let our dogs go outside and stood hanging onto the door jamb for support while they did their thing,after they came back in I still stood there trying to catch a breath while my chest did it's very passable impersonation of a tractor engine trying to kick itself into life.The last two days have not been the easiest to get through,for the most part I have struggled to breathe on my own and this has left me exhausted and with absolutely no energy,with the end result being that I haven't managed to get to my doctors office yet,and as my physical deterioration continues,that is something I really must do.I did have a short period of time when I thought I was getting a little better,but then back with the tightness and uncontrollable bouts of coughing,so it's back to playing for time and resting as much as I can.You know,there are times when I absolutely hate my body,but unlike an automobile when it's engine has died you can't trade it in for a newer model,so I'm stuck with this rusty old heap of a shell I'm forced to live in and have to patch it up as best I can with the tools I have available.As time passes however,I am only too well aware of the dangers I face as opposed to a person who does not have COPD/Emphysema,a simple cold to an otherwise healthy person is like a veritable minefield for me,and can result,as it has done in the past,in some very nasty complications.I remember all too clearly suffering from pleurisy four times within the space of five months after initial colds that led to pneumonia which then resulted in the pleurisy that incapacitated me for weeks,I have no desire to repeat that particular experience,but I am afraid that it may be rapidly spinning out of my control unless something changes soon.My wife,as always,has been immense in her care of me,making sure that I take my medication when I'm supposed to,in the correct amounts etc:,plus a few extra vitamins and cough linctus she has thrown in for good measure,but she can only do so much,my body has to do the other bit,and at the moment it is refusing to cooperate,bad,bad body!. As I type,she is still asleep with our canine brood curled around her in a protective clump of warm fur,she looks tired a lot of the time,but,as is her way,she very rarely complains,she very magnanimously allows me to do most of that,which I do loudly and often,but I am getting better at keeping my facial orifice shut,a new development for which I am sure she is very grateful.I am now on my second mug of coffee which is beginning to take effect,and I no longer feel like an inmate of a graveyard who escaped because someone neglected to close the gate on their departure,my chest has seemingly given up the task of trying to extricate my lungs from their natural habitat for now,and I am able to breathe,with some effort and the help of my trusty old friend senor inhaler,at least semi comfortably for the moment.I still feel very weak physically but that is to be expected,I have not eaten a lot over the past few days due to my lack of appetite,I have managed a dinner or two but only because I knew I had to eat despite having no great desire to do so,I have however kept up my liquid intake,every time I turn around in my chair my wife has placed a fresh cup of tea with lemon or a glass of water on my table,a lot of the time without me noticing,I'm still trying to figure out how she does that,but I'm grateful that she does.Well,while I am able to function,albeit a little slower than a stampeding snail,I am going to call my doctors office and attempt to see him today so I will go and do that now while I have the energy,so until next time journal,may God and easier breathing go with us,at least until I have seen the doctor.