Living With Asthma
If you look up the word “resilience” in the dictionary, you just might find a picture of Mary Beth Brockman.
The 79-year-old La Quinta resident has withstood multiple health challenges in her lifetime, including Type 1 diabetes, Addison’s disease (a rare, life-threatening condition in which the adrenal glands make too little of the hormone cortisol), uterine cancer, irritable bowel syndrome and asthma.
As if that weren’t enough, she and her husband of 56 years caught COVID-19 before the vaccine became available. He died of complications from the virus in January 2021.
Yet Brockman is still standing, despite an asthma flare-up that caused acute hypoxic respiratory failure, landing her at Eisenhower Medical Center for three days last March. Thanks to her being a self-described “very compliant patient” since her asthma diagnosis in 2011, it was the first time that her asthma required her to be hospitalized.
What happened?
“I had bronchitis and it just kept getting worse,” she recalls. “I was short of breath, wheezing, and my oximeter (a device that slips on a fingertip to measure the oxygen level in the blood) dipped below 90 — a signal to go to the hospital.” She called 9-1-1 and was brought to Eisenhower Health’s Tennity Emergency Department.
“With acute hypoxic respiratory failure, you don’t have enough oxygen in your blood to adequately supply tissues in the body,” explains Joan Dabu, MD, Board Certified in Pulmonary Disease, Critical Care Medicine and Internal Medicine. Dr. Dabu has been Brockman’s pulmonologist since 2018 when her previous pulmonologist retired. “Mrs. Brockman was treated with antibiotics, steroids, bronchodilators delivered via a nebulizer to open her airways, and supplemental oxygen.
“She’d been doing quite well; in fact, the year prior to her hospitalization, she’d had no breathing problems and we’d even talked about de-escalating the inhaler,” she adds. “But a viral respiratory infection like bronchitis can literally knock the wind out of someone with asthma.”
Brockman responded well to her inpatient treatment and was discharged to home with continued supplemental oxygen. She saw Dr. Dabu for a follow-up visit two weeks later.
“She was almost back to baseline by then,” Dr. Dabu says, “and was able to go off the oxygen and resume her previous medication protocol.”
These types of flare-ups are fairly common in people with asthma. In fact, according to the most recent annual data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of the nearly 26 million Americans with asthma, there were 11 million reported visits to a doctor’s office and 1.7 million visits to hospital outpatient departments. (Learn more about asthma in the accompanying sidebar on page 52.)
Self-management is the key to preventing most flare-ups
“Lifestyle is the mainstay for controlling asthma,” Dr. Dabu affirms. “First, you need to understand what your triggers are — it varies from person to person — and avoid those. Vaccinations against respiratory infections such as influenza, pneumonia and COVID-19 are strongly recommended. Staying indoors when there are high winds or when they scalp golf courses and lawns here in the desert can be important. Using hypoallergenic bedding can be helpful if allergies are a trigger. Exercise and keeping a healthy diet improve asthma control. And using your prescribed medications as directed to minimize symptoms is essential.”
Brockman is a believer.
“I aim to do everything right,” she says. “I keep up with all my vaccinations. I exercise every day, eat well, keep my weight down, and rest most days with short naps. I also keep my doctor appointments. With all my health issues, I spend several days of the month fiddling around with doctors.
“On the outside, I’m the healthiest person you’d ever meet,” she continues, “but my inside is another story.”
She doesn’t let that keep her from doing what she enjoys, however.
“I’m a social creature,” she says. “I like a lot of activity and stay very busy. I play bridge three times a week. I walk outdoors most days and, in the heat, go to the gym. I play nine holes of golf regularly. And I like to entertain.” In fact, the day we spoke, she was looking forward to hosting a dinner party for two couples over the upcoming weekend.
Brockman says her positive, self-reliant approach to her health and life stems from her Midwestern upbringing (she was born and raised in Iowa) and her musical training (she studied piano, flute and sang in choirs).
“It taught me to be responsible for taking care of myself,” she says. “I practiced daily and learned my part. And when it comes to my health, I’ve learned that, especially if you have anything out of the ordinary, you have to be strong and proactive and speak up.
“It’s a full-time job to keep myself healthy,” she adds. “Yes, it’s a lot to manage, but my philosophy is that no one else is going to do it for me. I love life and I want to enjoy it. Asthma is the least of my concerns.
“For a 79-year-old, I do really, really well,” she adds. “I have strong faith, good family, good friends — what more can I ask for?”
For more information or to find a physician, call 760.568.1234, or visit EisenhowerHealth.org.
