www.breatheeasytelford.btik.com

July / August2015

Registered charity in England and Wales (326730) and in Scotland (SCO38415)

Breathe Easy Telford is a self-help group affiliatedto the British Lung Foundation, dedicated to bring-ing together all those in our area affected by respi-

ratory diseases, both patients and carers.Meetings are monthly, every fourth Thursday at

Wellington Civic & Leisure Centre[Swimming Baths], Larkin Way, Tan Bank,Wellington, Telford TF1 1LX at 2.00 p.m.

Please contact BLF Direct on03000 030 555 for further information.

E-mail the editor: dillarstone@blueyonder.co.uk

£1,632.37 raised atthe Races!

We held a Race Night on Saturday 20 June with our local com-munity respiratory team to raise money for a Portable CapillaryBlood Gas Analyser Machine which costs £7,000. This machineis used widely in the hospital setting to enable health profession-als to obtain accurate information regarding patients’ oxygenlevels and enables them to look at all the other components inthe blood that help to maintain the oxygen level at acceptableand safe limits. Having a portable machine for the communityrespiratory team would allow housebound and acutely ill pa-tients to have these tests done at home so they could be moni-tored more closely when they were feeling unwell and if therewas some doubt about their oxygen level and need. This wouldhopefully allow patients to be fully assessed at home in order toprevent an admission to hospital if not required. There is a lot ofevidence to suggest that keeping patients at home, who have along term lung condition, is far more beneficial to their health asit helps to prevent them catching further infections. We had awell attended event with over a 100 people!Picture attached is Veronica Miller (left) our Treasurer and Sis-ter Sarah Paterson (right) from the Telford and Wrekin Commu-

nity Respiratory Team. The ladies did a splendid job in organizing and running the event. We haven’tgot the final figure but understand it is £1,632.37 so far collected.

Dawley Excercise ClassComplementing the established Exercise Classes at St Georges on Tuesdays, a new class recentlystarted on Fridays at Dawley House-Community Hall, Burton Street, Dawley.Session take place, 1.30 - 2.30 pm . Open to all who have successfully completed a Pulmonary RehabExercise Course. Maintain your exercise regime with a BLF approved instructor.£4 per meeting.A class that improves breathing control, Improves confidence and Increase acts of daily living. ContactTracey on 07779500051 for further information.

Sponsor Elsa on her 100 mile cycle forBritish Lung Foundation

Elsa Davies who is the Team Leader of ourcommunity respiratory nurses is raising moneyfor British Lung Foundation next month bycycling in the 2015 Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100. She will start in the new QueenElizabeth Olympic Park, then follow a 100-mileroute on closed roads through the capital andinto Surrey’s stunning countryside. A testingride, made famous by the world’s best cyclistsat the London 2012 Olympics. The finish is on

The Mall in central London. Elsa says “One person in five in the UK isaffected by lung disease. I am taking this opportunity to combine a sportI love with raising funds for a charity which provides help and support,campaigns for better lung health and funds research into new treat-ments and cures Thank you for your donation, your support will help meup those hills........”.

If you would like to support Elsa you can go to her Online page:-http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ElsaDaviesIf you are supporting online, as above, please remember to 'gift-aid' your donation if you can.

For anyone not having access to a computer or who would prefer to use a cheque, Elsaalso has a paper sponsorship form, so you can give a cheque or cash. Please make chequespayable to ‘British Lung Foundation’ and with either a little note or with ‘Elsa Davies - 2015Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100’ on the back and pass to a committee member at the groupmeeting or please pass to one of the community nurses for it to be passed on to Elsa. Fingerscrossed that the weather is favourable on the day and all our very best wishes.

Glorious Day on theSevern Valley Railway

A 'Grand Day Out' just about sums it up as the SevernValley was on fire for our visit. 33 degree of blisteringheat and a hot lunch served on a train with the sunpouring in through those plate glass windows may notsound like much fun but I can assure you we all had afabulous day out.Yet again we are indebted to Veronica for picking up

the challenge when Mary became incapacitated. Well done to both ofyou, everything ran like clockwork and with the thoughtful 'addedextras' like a few battery operated fans & a icebox full of bottled water,the day went without a hitch. All returned to base safe and sound,maybe a bit sticky but never the less happy and relaxed. Praise andthanks to Mary and Veronica, are never enough for all the effort put into make our outings special but the time involved in organising thesetrips is huge and can become quite stressful.Picture on the left is of some of group relaxing in the slighter cooler airat Bridgnorth waiting for the return journey.On the return trip, Mary Cook kindly acknowledged the donation of£1,000 given to us, by the sons of the late Ron Miller, in his memory.Ron had very much enjoyed a previous outing on the SVR with thegroup and I’m sure he would have been pleased with the successfulday. Elaine Biddulph

Wow - £4,728.97 Raised!Nearly up to the target of £5,000!

Money still coming in at time of printing. What fantastic news for our fundraising campaign for get ting a portable blood machine for the Community Respiratory Team More details in September’s Newsletter

Blists Hill - June 10thWell yet again we can say in all honesty our visit toBlists Hill on 10th June was a resounding success.Although sadly Mary Cook who normally plans ourdays out, wasn't able to join us for this one, she mostcertainly had a hand in the weather as the day wasperfect in every way!It's many years since I was at Blists Hill and themuseum has certainly grown since my last visit, likemost of us its matured gracefully (ha, ha), its setting is

a peaceful one that certainly helps create a bygone era. For me it was a bit of a homecoming as itsan area that I frequented during childhood when Sundays weren't for playing out but for best clothes,Sunday school & watching Cricket. Walks were permitted in a morning after church but tomfoolerymost certainly was not and neither was going any-where near the river, the canal or the 'flea hole' as theold blast furnaces were known! Needles to say ruleswere always meant to be broken and having threeolder siblings who were meant to be looking after meour routes home became very varied & gagging or-ders were often in place preventing little sister fromletting the cat out of the bag! The Sunday schoolchildren always came out of church during the Hymnbefore the sermon thus giving us plenty of time to walkbefore a 1pm lunch so it seemed half the children ofMadeley would be out walking often in great groups we may have strayed into forbidden areas topick bullrushes & water Iris from off the canal but that was about it apart from my eldest brother whmade us all walk infront so that he could hold hands with a young lady he was sweet on.....oh yes iwas gagged!Blists Hill certainly took me back into life in Madeley in the fifties & early sixties shops where thesugar was weighed out from large sacks onto brass scales that shone so bright you could see yourface in them. Then it was poured into blue sugar bags. the smell of the bakery with its deliciouswares and the Haberdashers with everything you needed from a length of cloth to a thimble. TheBank where you could swop your modern day money for the old £. s. d... you forget how big &cumbersome they were and more to the point how heavy!I think we have a lot to be thankful for in our lives today, times move on but If you dream ofyesteryear, want to teach your youngsters about a bygone age or simply just are looking for a greatday out then you'll find it at Blists Hill. I found most of it accessible with the aid of my mobility scooteras I was able to park outside & step into the few places that I couldn't easily access. Wheelchairusers I fear would have found the site a struggle unless they were of the motorised variety.The museum staff were very thoughtful and keen to assist which certainly helped make the day.Afternoon tea in the Forest Glen being the true icing on the cake, it was faultless and was readilyreceived by everyone after so much fresh air & exercise!Thanks Mark & Veronica for all your efforts for another great day out! Elaine Biddulph

Tracey passes herSpecialist Exercise Training

Tracey Oliver who is the class instructor at the Exercise Classes atSt Georges and Dawley attended a training course in London to buildon her knowledge and skills required to design, agree and adapt aphysical activity programme for adults with chronic respiratory dis-ease. The course was written and reviewed by a range of cliniciansworking in the field and is Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs)Level 4.Veronica Miller and Mark Dillarstone from Breathe Easy Telfordpresented her a bouquet of flowers to acknowledge her achievement.

Daisy’s Tea Lawn-Saturday 27 JuneDear Editor,I heard that Daisy’s Tea Lawn raised £338.50!Wow! that’s fantastic news. A great effort by Kate, Jo and their helpers, mindyou only to be expected with a selection of goodies like that.... what a choice.Cakes to grace anyone’s table! A great afternoon all round if you ask me and mydaughter said she could be tempted to come home every weekend if she couldsit in the sunshine, drink tea and eat plenty of cake! My bonus came after I hadcommented on the fact that the wooden garden furniture had been painted, Ithought it was a good idea & stated that I might do the same with our old set thatis looking very tired & dilapidated. No sooner the word than the deed, a swiftstop off at Wyvale on the way home & I am now the proud owner of 2 x pinkchairs! Ok Pink maybe wasn't exactly what I had in mind but hey don't knock agift horse, she who fetched it & did the work got to pick! She's back in a coupleof weeks to paint the table. I've promised to make more cake if she does but Ifear there's no guarantee that it will be anywhere near Daisy's standard!So thank you Daisy I had a great afternoon!Take careElaine

Shropshire Star Community Tokens EventBreathe Easy Telford entered a token collection eventfor local community groups, run by our local newspa-per "Shropshire Star" a few months ago.It was suggested that we put ourselves forward by oneof our local respiratory consultants Dr Nawaid Ahmad.Veronica Miller made our case and application and wewere chosen to be one of the 50 organizations to beincluded in the event.Last month Veronica got a phone call to say that wewere in the TOP 10 who collected the most ShropshireStar tokens! Our total was 3362 tokens.There was a presentation event in Shrewsbury atBurntwood Enterprise.on Friday 11th July. We re-ceived a cheque for £646.03! Mark and I had a lovelyafternoon. The presentation co incided with a rebrand

for the firm and they put on a "fun day" for staff, corporate clients and the 10 invited charities.There were fair ground games, including archery and hook a duck, beat the goalie, a climbingwall, a photo booth, nail bar, cup cake decorating, garden games, bbq, ice cream, mini ping pong,crazy golf and segway! It was amazing. We tried as many events as possible. We stayed aslong as we could and got into as many photos as possible.Wellington Cottage Hospital came first, they received about £2.4k. Little Dragons were 2nd andthe Harry Johnson Trust were 3rd. We were 10th. Veronica Miller

Up Coming EventsAGM - 23 July.Pub Lunch – Wickets Inn, Wellington - 3 AugustLlandudno - 12 August

No Group Meeting in AugustPub Lunch – Wickets Inn, Wellington - 7 SeptemberDr Moudgil - Consultant Physician - Respiratory Medicine - 24 SeptemberOn Tuesday 6th October we are holding a tombola event at the Princess Royal Hospital.Donations for prizes would be warmly welcomed and can be passed to any committee member.