Bharat, from Letchworth, has a lung condition called COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and respiratory failure. Six weeks ago, he couldn't get up and walk to a chair across the room, but told us that since he has been attending classes in our Rehab and Wellbeing services to help with symptoms such as breathlessness, he can now walk 700-800 steps a day.
"My front room looked like a hospital room, everything had to be close to me and I had to lean on my wife to walk," he said.
"The Hospice really is a fantastic place. My recent health scare knocked my confidence and it's had a huge physical and financial aspect on me, but nobody here says 'you can't do this'. It's never negative and there's so much positivity.
"When I was in hospital I was almost continuously on a nebuliser. When they let me out I was on some different inhalers, but fundamentally when doing small things such as standing up, I couldn't breathe. This was only a month ago. Since then I've attended these sessions at the Hospice and continued with these exercises and suddenly I started to feel I had control of my body. Breathing is a normal function, we do it automatically. But we also have control over our breathing and by controlling it, we can affect how our body works.
"Six weeks ago I couldn't get up and walk to a chair. Five weeks ago my front room looked like a hospital room, everything had to be close to me and I had to lean on my wife to walk. This morning it's been blisteringly hot and my smartwatch tells me I've done 700-800 steps.
"Today [at the Education and Exercise class on Breathlessness] we were learning relaxation techniques and knowing your pain. My own resting heart rate is 72-74 beats per minute. We did the relaxation techniques today and I was 62 beats per minute afterwards.
"When I first came here I was worried, not knowing what people were going to ask me to do. But everything is voluntary, and I would strongly encourage others to take part in these sessions.
"People aren't aware that they have a lot of knowledge in their heads. Sometimes it takes a place like this and people like those who work here to say: 'you aren't stupid - we understand what you're going through'. It's encouraging and lifts you. You can be right down there, but when somebody tells you in a non-condescending way then there's hope for better.
"It's the informality and welcoming nature of the team here that makes such a difference. This establishment has as much to do with a person's health as a hospital, but the moment you walk in and somebody talks to you, it's different. The formality becomes informal and you then lose the fear to do things and ask things you don't understand - and that's fantastic.
"Everything has been so positive."
Bharat was recently interviewed by BBC radio, with his story featured on two local stations. Listen to the full clip below:
