Created: July 13, 2021 06:45 PM SCHENECTADY - Thomas Murphy of Fulton County had a new Zephyr valve procedure in March. "I couldn't walk 30 feet before the procedure," he said. Now, he has something back. "Freedom!" Murphy said. "I figure I was like that for over a year when I couldn't do anything. Or three years. And then as soon as he did it, I was walking around the hospital. I was ready to leave the next day." "COPD or Emphysema is a disease that we've struggled to treat for a long time, and for quite some time we haven't been able to do anything else for all these patients except maybe refer for lung transplant," said Dr. Brian McDonald.