F O fllS ir Group exercise and camaraderie as well as stationary exercise bikes. Steele is hoping a few other service clubs will collectively chip in the $3,000 needed to pay for another weekly session. Bob Steele is grateful for every breath he takes. "TWice a week would be a great benefit to The same is true for John Barton. Vince Robbinson. Andy McGill, Dennis Bastow and everyone in the group," said Steele. Pauline Carter is 62 years old and credits the Pauline Carter. They are a few of the 25 Air Forcers who meet weekly Air Forcers club, as well as the gentle push every Tuesday at the Glen Abbey Recreation Centre given by her family doctor and the respiratory reha to exercise their bodies and damaged lungs. They bilitation program at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, with putting her life back on track. meet from 1:30 - 3 p.m. Carter's illness, like older people who have All of them have a disease called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which COPD, is a result of smoking. Some also developed it through factory work when according to Statistics air quality controls were not Canada was diagnosed in in place, nor enforced. 181.000 people, aged 35Carter puffed her first cig 54. in 1999. arette at age 18 and quit last But according to year when several chest Mickie Daniel-Angas, infections and numerous Executive Director o f the colds landed her in hospital. Halton Lung Association, She's tried working out at as many as 750.000 people commercial gyms but didn't have COPD and it is feel comfortable and wanted reported to be the fifth the guidance she gets from leading cause of death in the Air Forcers' fitness this country. instructors. She also said there is Before and after each great worry that with pol meeting fitness instructors lution and second-hand Lee and Burleigh take each smoke. COPD will members' blood oxygen lev become prevalent among els and heart rate. children, unless research They then lead the group uncovers more effective through a series of warm ups, treatment and prevention weight-lifting movements strategies. and either on a walk, tread For Steele, it means a mill or stationary bike ride. long conversation on the With a move to a new city telephone can leave him on the horizon. Carter wor breathless. ries there won't be an Air For the others, carrying Forcers club in her next the groceries is a task and hometown. "It's an essential walking the dog is a diffi Peter C. McCusker · Oakville Beaver exercise club for me," she cult chore often cut short due to a lot of huffing and M arg De G ru ch y of the A ir Forcers added. pushes on h e r stom ach d u rin g a b re a th The Lung Association's puffing. Breath Works program is one . "Daily chores leave me ing exercise. puffing like a steam engine, especially on muggy valuable resource she can use until she finds anoth er Air Forcers group. days." said Steele. Information can be found on its Web site Some Air Forcers have to rely on inhalers and www.lung.ca/breathworks or by calling the portable oxygen tanks to keep their lungs intact. Since 1999 the Air Forces have met once a week BreathWorks Helpline. 1-866-717-COPD (2673). Carter, Steele and their better breathing com for 90 minutes of camaraderie and motivation. They'd like to meet twice a week but lack of rades know that their health won't improve -- the long-term damage is irreversible. finances makes that impossible at the moment. But the exercise they do with their Air Forcers Each Air Forcer already chips in $30 every 10 weeks to cover the wages of two fitness instructors, mates keeps them out of hospital and will give them a longer and better quality of life at home. June Lee and Valerie Burleigh. It is possible to live well with the disease. The Town covers the cost of using the Glen Any service organization wishing to help the Air Abbey gymnasium and the Oakville Civitan Club has provided an oxygenator (a device which affixes Forcers cover expenses of a second weekly meeting to a finger tip and measures the blood oxygen level) can call Bob Steele at 905-634-5092. SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER FOURTH LINE AUTO GOODpYEAR For A il Your Car's Needs ` Drive Clear Emission Testing Government Safety Inspection Tbne-Ups · Brakes · Exhaust · Cooing Systems CAA Approved Shop Official Media Sponsor 559 Speers Road (905) 842-3001 / Editor: Wilma Blokhuis Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 250) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: blokhuis@haltonsearch.com Air Forcers - breath of life By Melanie Cummings Peter C. McCusker · O a h 'ille Beaver Bob Steele o f the A ir F orcers folds his arm s in front o f his chest fo r a breath in g exercise w ith the A ir Forcers, and below, Andy M cGill leads a w alk at the G len A bbey R ecreation C entre. COATS HAVE ARRIVED FALL / / elcome to Sunrise Assisted Living, where families find great care, great hospitality and great living environments. Here residents enjoy personalized programs of care to meet needs that are light, comprehensive or somewhere in between. Ask about our Reminiscence Program for those with memory impairment. 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