I’m curious to know what kind of jobs people do who have bronchiectasis. Since leaving school I trained as a chef and quickly progressed through the ranks - I LOVED my job. But at 19 I experienced numerous pneumothoraces and was in and out of hospital for a while until eventually it was decided I’d have to have an operation in which they removed part of my left lung and then ‘stuck’ the lung to my chest wall thankfully it worked and stopped my lung from collapsing again *touches wood*.
Things wasn’t the same for me from then on at work I was exhausted and in a lot of pain most of the time, I was getting a lot of chest infections and in the end handed in my notice because of feeling so ashamed everytime I rang in sick.. I knew the team would be better off without me and I was struggling to cope.
I was 21 then and it took a while to get to the bottom of things, I was eventually diagnosed with Bronchiectasis and an auto immune disease which was why I was also suffering with my joints! It was a relief to have an answer and it’s took quite a bit of trial and error with medication but It’s got easier as I’ve learnt more about my conditions and found a care plan that works for me, I’m managing to be more active too these days - compared to where I was I feel so proud I won’t lie!
I’m 24 now and since leaving my job I’ve been earning money through making celebration cakes from home working around good/bad days with my health, but it’s an awfully lonely job! For that reason it was never going to be a long term thing job wise just a way to get by - trouble is I don’t even know where to start when it comes to finding a new venture. I loved working as a chef but I just don’t think I could cope with those crazy hours and that heat.
Managing my health does take up a fair chunk of the day and I do still get quite breathless and often get mucus plugs which are so painful until they shift but I’m desperate to find something I can throw myself into now. I’d really appreciate it if you could share with me what you guys do for a job? Or if anyone has heard of any kind of programmes / courses which could help someone in my situation find a new career path that would be amazing. Thank you in advance for reading and also sorry for the long post hehe, I thought it may be useful to add a background story for this
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Catto94
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Bless you a cake business sounds lovley. I'm an retired nurse now a self employed dog Walker pet sitter very busy the walking keeps us active and fairly fit . For hobbies I take pictures I have copd stage 3 .
I hope you find something to keep you out of trouble 😂😂💞💞
Thank you Blackbird6, me too! Hehe. I think I’d like to have my cakes as more of a hobby it’s very stressful at the moment 😂 I seen you post some photos I didn’t realise they was taken by yourself they are beautiful and so tranquil 😍 I adore animals your job sounds amazing! My 2 cats keep me going on my down days 🐈
Dog walking is fine and lovley when you have good weather. The rain can make me a bit miserable if it's too heavy and I get soaked through more than once in a day 😬😬
Go for the cake making at your pace dont let ppl over order on you to get you stressed dont be afraid to say no I'm too busy take your time and build up gradually good luck 💞💞
Some very good advice thank you, I do struggle to say no so it’s something I definitely need to Work on 😊❤️
I'm not going to be much help here, I've been retired since 1989. 🙄 But I'd like to say I admire the way you are handling adversity without a whine or complaint. I can imagine making celebration cakes being a bit stressful if people wait until the last minute to order them. An acquittance of mine who died from cancer recently had built up a very good business in that line and I know had a full order book. She was very clever at modelling and made cakes with some wonderful models on top. I suppose you would need to be something of an artist as well as a cook, but I know she made some at her leisure featuring children's TV characters etc which sold off the shelf in addition to commissioned ones. It seemed to me a very good way of making a living when ill health limits what you can do.
That’s very kind of you to say thank you ☺️ For now at least I will be cracking on in my cakey world, I do wish that I could ‘get out there’ a bit more with my job though, I’ve always been quite social up until recently and the isolation of working at home can send me a bit crackers at times 🤪😂 I must say though I do enjoy admiring the finished product before I send it out!
Hi Catto94 and welcome to the site. I think for somebody so young you have handled things very well. I too have bronchiectasis and rheumatoid arthritis. I cant advise you on a career path as I am now retired, but will say find something that you are going to enjoy doing and fits in with your off days. Maybe teaching classes on how to make cakes as you are so good at it, that way you can socialise as well. Or go to the careers advice as see if they can offer something. Whatever you decide I wish you well x
That is actually a fantastic idea for the future, thankyou! It would take some work but definitely something to aim for which is exactly what I want right now ❤️
You are only young Catto so could probably enrol on a college course, worth a try asking at your local college, that way you wouldnt be shouldering the cost and woukd have a host of subjects to chose from x
To be fair I was considering a college course Izb1! I just wasn’t sure if I would be funded as I already did a professional cookery course up to level 3 - you’re right in what you say I need to enquire there’s no use in me guessing 🤷🏻♀️😂 perhaps if it’s not usually the norm they may make an exception due to the circumstances, I can only try 😊 thank you x
I work in financial IT where there are many career paths you can follow, I've found the bigger the employer (ie around 70000 employees) the better able they are to accommodate us.
Welcome Catto94- I am a retired primary schoolteacher and found it quite hard especially during the winter months to teach and deal with the little ones and their germs. I have been to cake making and icing courses which I thoroughly enjoyed so I think that is a good opportunity to meet others and use your skills. I know I would love to do a course and birthday cakes and icing as my attempts at icing are pretty rough. Wishing you well . Anita x
I can imagine how much of a struggle it was for you working with primary age children, I often pick up bugs off my Neices and Nephews so you must have had a tough time fighting infection dealing with an army of children 😂 I have thought about doing some classes to meet up with fellow cakers but I’ve struggled to find some affordable ones, I have however joined a cake community on Facebook where all level bakers come together to ask advice, share techniques etc. If you’re on Facebook and you’d be interested in joining it’s called ‘sugar and crumbs all about cake community’ so many tips and posts of encouragement 😁
I too have bronçhiectasis. You say sometimes difficult to move plug in the lungs. Carbocisteine tablets on prescription three times each day and drinking lots of water help to keep mucus thinner so easier to cough up. I also have a nebuliser and do active cycle of breathing each morning and evening - lots of info on internet.
I also follow these techniques however I’m currently only prescribed carbo twice a day I find it better to use my saline neb in the afternoon as it doesn’t have much of an effect for me in the morning, for some reason even though I keep up with my physio etc I’m still getting these plugs 😕 they are predominantly on the left side where I had my surgery so whether that has anything to do with it I’m not sure, I wasn’t allowed to try a rumbler device because of history of collapsed lung. Thank you for sharing your tips 😊
Hi Catto, I am very fortunate that I work self employed as a manicurist and massage therapist in a nursing home. I have regular clients, but I can work hours and days to suit me, if I am feeling tired I can roll clients over to the next day etc. I also trained as a Reiki master and crystal healer and can work from home also when needed. A far cry from running my own recruitment business employing 100 HGV drivers lol, but I no longer have the stress and can work at my own pace. Good luck in whatever you decide to do, but someone mentioned teaching your skills, which sounds a great idea xx
It definitely seems an excellent choice to work for yourself if you are able to, the flexibility of it is definitely a bonus for people like us. It’s so good to hear that you’ve found something which works around you, thank you for your reply ❤️
Congratulations on your fantastic cakes ! I think that another option might be to join a local market and sell you cakes from there. That way, if you are having a not-so-good day, you won't be letting people down as you felt you were in work (you can just call the market organiser and explain so maybe they would have time to ask someone else to take your table/stall for that one day). My experiences of joining my local market was that everyone was very friendly and very helpful, and the more they learn of your condition, the more accepting people are. Also, by doing this you meet loads of new people, they introduce you to others and so on. Later on, if you feel up to it you could think about taking orders from the stall but start nice and slowly by selling what you've made. Visit a couple of markets and talk to people before you think of beginning to see if its right for you. Good Luck !
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