Breath by Breath: Why Oxygen Is a Right, Not a Privilege
Although World Oxygen Day passed on October 2, 2025, I’m sharing this—after the anniversary of my father’s passing on November 8. The message remains just as urgent.
On November 8, 2019, my father took his last breath. The memory of that day is still vivid, marking the end of a long and arduous journey battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFBE). As we acknowledge World Oxygen Day on October 2, I want to share a deeply personal story about what it means to watch someone so vibrant and full of life slowly suffocate, day by day, from a disease that relentlessly steals breath and hope.
The Struggle Behind Every Breath
Witnessing the slow progression of COPD and NCFBE has been one of the most challenging experiences of my life, both as a daughter and a pulmonologist. It is devastating to see someone who once laughed easily, walked strong, and dreamed big become increasingly tethered to machines and oxygen tubing just to survive a regular day. My father’s spirit remained unbroken; his hope for tomorrow persisted even as his lungs betrayed him. Family holidays were spent adapting to the hum of his oxygen concentrator, the ever-present reminder of the preciousness of every breath.
Oxygen: More Than a Prescription
My father’s meaningful quality of life was not only the result of excellent medical care and resilient positivity but also accessible supplemental oxygen. Seven years past his diagnosis, he required 10 liters per minute just to sustain himself. This level of support, provided reliably through a home concentrator, was his lifeline. It allowed him to participate in family dinners, watch his grandchildren grow, and savor the joys of ordinary life. Without supplemental oxygen, those vital years would have been stolen from him long before 2019. In my experience caring for patients, I saw many whose battles ended far sooner, who lost their fight not for lack of will but for lack of resources and support.
A Call to Action for Medicare Recipients
My father’s story is not unique. Thousands of Americans fighting advanced lung disease depend on supplemental oxygen for daily existence and dignity. As policies shift and the future of healthcare grows uncertain, protecting the rights of Medicare recipients to access life-sustaining therapies—especially home oxygen—is paramount. Bureaucratic hurdles and inadequate coverage can mean the difference between life and premature death, between a future and forgotten hope.
Today, in my father’s memory and for countless others walking similar paths, I implore our government:
Safeguard access to supplemental oxygen for all Medicare recipients.
Simplify the approval and reimbursement processes for home oxygen therapy.
Ensure every patient living with severe respiratory illness receives not just longevity, but meaningful quality of life.
World Oxygen Day is a time to honor every patient who strives for one more day and every family who stands by them. It is a call to champion their right to breathe, to hope, and to live—not just survive.
Let’s raise our voices together. Our loved ones deserve nothing less.
—
Dr. Alison Kole
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