Oxygen supply is my lifeline (From Swindon Advertiser)

Oxygen supply is my lifeline

9:24am Thursday 13th July 2006 in News By Lyndsay Scanlan

DAVID Staines has a deadly lung condition and needs to lose a kilo in weight before he can be put on the organ transplant list.

But mistakes by the company which supplies oxygen cylinders to his house mean that he cannot leave his home let alone make it to the gym.

Mr Staines, 51, relies on a constant supply of oxygen cylinders to survive and is connected to them most of the day, He has scarring to the lungs which means they are slowly crumbling away, leaving him gravely ill.

But Surrey-based Air Products, the company that supplies the life-saving oxygen, has not been delivering him the right amount leaving him a prisoner in his own home and forcing to use a home oxygen system.

But, crucially, the mix-ups could scupper his chances of a transplant.

Doctors do not know why David, who is married to 52-year-old Christina, and has four children and 10 grandchildren, has this illness but they think it could be hereditary.

The former bus driver had to give up work last summer when he was diagnosed and spends hours with an oxygen mask covering his face, gasping for breath.

Even talking leaves him breathless. "There is no cure for what I have," said David.

"I have chemotherapy which slows down the disease but my only chance of having any sort of freedom and a second chance is to have a lung transplant.

"Unless I have the transplant I don't know how long I've got left."

He wants to make the most of this time. Air Products took over delivering the cylinders when local chemists gave up in February.

But when the company does not deliver the eight cylinders a week, as it is supposed to, David cannot even walk around his Lennox Drive garden.

"I need eight cylinders a week. I need the oxygen basically all the time," he said. "But sometimes I only have two or three delivered.

"If I run out it means I'm a prisoner in my own home because I can't leave without the oxygen, I wouldn't be able to breathe."

He added: "I don't want to be stuck indoors for the rest of my days. I want to be able to go for a walk or see my family and friends."

When David first went to hospital to be assessed for a transplant he was told he had to lose weight.

He still has one kilo left to lose before he can be put on the organ transplant list. "I only do light exercises but it really takes it out of me, which is why I need the oxygen with me."

Jo Hills, Air Products spokeswoman, said: "We apologise to Mr Staines for the incomplete order he received on July 4 and any delays, or incomplete deliveries, he has experienced in receiving cylinders previously.

"However we can confirm that Mr Staines received a delivery of eight cylinders last Friday and a further delivery of eight cylinders Tuesday.

"Further deliveries are scheduled for later this week," she added: "Based on Mr Staines's very high oxygen requirement, our clinical nurse advisor is talking to Mr Staines about whether other modes of oxygen supply may be suitable."