Hello fellow travellers.

My name is Barbara Farrelly.

I am 57.

I live in a tiny fishing village on the east coast of Australia with Stage IV COPD. (There is no stage V).

I have been living with serious lung disease for 15 years — one of the millions who are, or will be, affected by emphysema. But I did start down this path awfully young and I’ve learnt a lot. I want to share that experience, strength and hope with others in the same boat.

I wear a nose-hose and consider oxygen to be performance enhancing and life preserving.
Woo Hoo! (Imagine all the coal miners who never had O2).

I am a seeker. A stargazer. Passionate about food and concerned for all creatures, great and small.

I love books, films, TV and, when I can get there, the theatre and concerts. I follow world events with an equal measure of horror and optimism.

Gardening. Cryptic Crosswords. Cats, and *Gongoozling are some of my favourite things.

Welcome to The Departure Lounge.

Join the conversation.

*Gongoozle is a lost word, meaning to stare idly at the ocean, or any watercourse.