SOUTHERN PINES – At first, Bill Hughes didn’t think much about his shortness of breath, chalking it up to advancing age and a long life as a self-described couch potato.

When the problem worsened, he consulted a cardiologist, who treated him for atrial fibrillation, and then a pulmonologist who diagnosed a problem with a name just as intimidating as the disease itself – idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. That means there’s no apparent reason for the progressive scarring of Bill Hughes’ lungs.

“It’s relentless,” the 78-year-old Hughes says.

Pulmonary fibrosis is incurable and, according to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, ultimately fatal. Hughes has accepted that fact, but instead of allowing his condition to control his life, he took his doctor’s advice and enrolled in the Pulmonary Rehabilitation program offered at the FirstHealth Center for Health & Fitness-Southern Pines.

The retired pension actuary and sometime world traveler is now successfully managing his disease. His pulse oxygen levels have improved, he is exercising (something he had never done before), and he has found a friendly sanctuary in the company of other people who are living with lung disease.

“The trend of this kind of disease is to kind of withdraw because your world is getting smaller,” he says. “Here, you have people in the same lifeboat.”

According to program manager Jill Brown, the group setting is an important part of Pulmonary Rehab. “Oftentimes, these folks don’t feel like they belong anywhere,” she says. “Here, they feel like they belong. They get a tremendous amount of support and encouragement from each other.”

Pulmonary Rehab is designed for people with chronic, but clinically stable lung disease. The most common diagnosis is COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), but Brown and fellow respiratory therapist Alyson Campbell have also worked with patients with sarcoidosis, lung cancer, asthma and neuromuscular disease (including post-polio syndrome) – even those awaiting or who have had a lung transplant.

A physician referral is necessary for the program that includes medical management, education, exercise, breathing retraining and relaxation techniques.

“The program is designed to help you build strength and endurance,” says Brown, “and to teach you ways to manage your disease properly. The goal is increased energy and an overall improved quality of life while living with lung disease.”

Pulmonary Rehab is goal-oriented and can be individualized to meet patient needs. “We sit down with our patients one on one,” says Brown. “We talk about what they expect to get out of the program. We set goals, and we work toward meeting those goals. It works.”

Hughes agrees. “When I came here, I couldn’t do five minutes on that treadmill,” he says. “Now I can do a half hour. For me, it’s a lot of progress.”

Medicare and most insurance companies will cover the cost of 30 Pulmonary Rehab sessions, offered three times a week for 10 weeks. Some people, like Hughes and Pulmonary Rehab participant Jane Kersey, have so much respect for the program and its staff that they self-pay to take part in continuing maintenance sessions.

“These gals know what they’re doing,” says Kersey of the Pulmonary Rehab staff.

Kersey, who will be 82 in May, had also developed shortness of breath. Like Hughes, she consulted a heart specialist who in her case found nothing wrong. Because she is a lifelong singer with experience in diaphragm breathing, she decided she could live with her problem – until a trip into the high mountains of the American West convinced her otherwise.

She enrolled in Pulmonary Rehab and is now so improved that she is completely off oxygen, even the overnight support she once needed to sleep. She plays nine holes of golf twice a week, walks and exercises at home in addition to the workouts she gets with Pulmonary Rehab.

“I’m one of the lucky ones,” Kersey says. “I can do anything."