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Back to What Matters: How Pulmonary Rehabilitation Helped Richard Stay Active

November 2, 2026

For Richard, the motivation to make a change was simple: He wanted to keep up with his grandchildren.

After a lifetime of smoking, Richard began noticing that everyday activities were becoming harder. He would become short of breath, and playing with his grandchildren wasn’t as easy as it once had been.

So nearly six years ago, Richard took an important first step. Just minutes before midnight on New Year’s Eve, he smoked his last cigarette.

Richard was already living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, so additional treatment was needed beyond quitting smoking. Under the care of Lakeland Regional Health pulmonologist James Brown, MD, Richard was referred to pulmonary rehabilitation.

Pulmonary rehabilitation is a medically supervised program designed to help people with chronic lung conditions such as COPD live more active lives. Programs may combine exercise training, breathing techniques, education, and support to help participants build strength, better manage symptoms, and make everyday activities easier.

Richard attended pulmonary rehabilitation at Lakeland Regional Health twice a week. His sessions included walking on a treadmill, strengthening exercises, and sit-to-stand exercises.

The work wasn’t always easy, but Richard credits the pulmonary rehabilitation team with always helping to motivate him. “They gave me the determination. They gave me the encouragement to go with these exercises,” he says.

“Pulmonary rehabilitation can be an important part of care for people living with COPD. While it does not reverse the underlying lung disease, it can help patients build strength, improve endurance, and learn strategies that can make it easier to stay active and participate in daily life,” says James Brown, MD.

During the program, he formed a close bond with the pulmonary rehabilitation team. Richard speaks warmly about the three team members who encouraged him, challenged him, and shared plenty of laughs.

“I basically cried when I was leaving the program,” he says. “I appreciated everything that they did.”

Richard continued building on what he learned in pulmonary rehabilitation. He purchased resistance bands and weights so he could exercise at home and joined a gym.

Today, Richard still gets short of breath and knows when he needs to stop and rest. But he says pulmonary rehabilitation has made a significant difference in his endurance. Recently, Richard and his wife took a three-week trip that began in Seattle and took them down the West Coast to San Diego. Along the way, they walked, explored, and even took a few hikes.

And back home, there are five grandchildren waiting for him. Richard admits he still can’t outrun them. But these days, that doesn’t stop him from trying. During family gatherings, Richard jokes with the kids and chases them around the house, doing the very thing that had become difficult before he sought care.

Richard has stayed connected with the pulmonary rehab team. He still stops by to visit and encourage other patients going through the program.

And for anyone wondering whether pulmonary rehabilitation is worth the effort, Richard doesn’t hesitate.

“Keep on going,” he says.

Learn More

To learn more about pulmonary care and pulmonary rehab at Lakeland Regional Health, visit the link below. 

Pulmonary rehab is now located at our Parkview location at 1409 N Florida Ave, Lakeland, FL 33805.

Pulmonary Care

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