Grace Anne Dorney, left, and husband Ted Koppel pose for photos with guests during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Grace Anne Dorney Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center on Thursday, June 9, 2016, in Hamlin.
HAMLIN, W.Va. — Advocating for pulmonary rehabilitative treatment is a very personal mission for Grace Anne Dorney-Koppel.
She was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in 2001 and given five years to live.
“It started taking over my life,” she said. “My daily activities were becoming more and more restricted. They said I would be on full oxygen within a year, and I should start preparing for end of life.”
It was then that she learned about pulmonary rehabilitation for people suffering with COPD.
“I immersed myself in the program of exercise, education about the disease and learned how to live a good full life,” she said. “My life was restored.”
Now, 15 years later, Dorney-Koppel has her life back. She is a practicing attorney, president of the COPD Foundation and business manager for her husband, well-known broadcast journalist Ted Koppel…
