- Nov 26, 2011
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I lost another friend to lung disease yesterday.
13 years ago, I had a chest x-ray. I forget what for. Anyway, the doctor pointed to a bunch of spots in the x-ray and asked me if I knew what they were. I admitted ignorance.
He told me they were the beginning signs of emphysema. Emphysema is irreversible. I had been trying for over a decade to quit, to no avail. I did the gum, the patches, the classes, cold turkey, all the methods. Nothing had worked.
One night, my four year old son patted my empty shirt pocket. I asked him what he was doing. He said, "I'm looking for those things that you always have there."
fuck...
That was it. I had to quit.
Then I heard about Chantix, which was a relatively new thing at the time. So I gave it a shot. About 8 of us at work all quit together.
13 years later, I am the only one who is still not smoking. And yesterday, one of our group of 8 died. He leaves behind a daughter who is one of my daughter's best friends, and a wife.
He loved his daughter. Believe me. He loved her very, very much. Spoiled her rotten. And I used to berate him and berate him that if he loved his daughter, he should quit smoking.
A couple years ago, he had a heart attack and was in a coma for three days. He collapsed right in front of his daughter. He ended up in the most rundown horrible convalescent home I have ever seen. It was hellish.
Was that enough?
Nope.
He quit for about a month and then took up smoking again.
The last time I saw him, he was gulping like a goldfish. That's the way he existed for the past two years. Sipping air. He could barely draw a breath. And still smoking.
Nicotine is a vicious, vicious addiction. It is stronger than a father's love.
I lost the best friend I have ever had in my entire life three years ago to this shit. He went out the same way. Gasping for air.
If you smoke, STOP! For fuck's sake, STOP.
Do whatever it takes.
And if you catch your kids vaping nicotine, cut them off. Take away their money, their cell phone, their computer, their TV privileges, their sleepover privileges. Make them sleep on a straw bed until they give that shit up.
13 years ago, I had a chest x-ray. I forget what for. Anyway, the doctor pointed to a bunch of spots in the x-ray and asked me if I knew what they were. I admitted ignorance.
He told me they were the beginning signs of emphysema. Emphysema is irreversible. I had been trying for over a decade to quit, to no avail. I did the gum, the patches, the classes, cold turkey, all the methods. Nothing had worked.
One night, my four year old son patted my empty shirt pocket. I asked him what he was doing. He said, "I'm looking for those things that you always have there."
fuck...
That was it. I had to quit.
Then I heard about Chantix, which was a relatively new thing at the time. So I gave it a shot. About 8 of us at work all quit together.
13 years later, I am the only one who is still not smoking. And yesterday, one of our group of 8 died. He leaves behind a daughter who is one of my daughter's best friends, and a wife.
He loved his daughter. Believe me. He loved her very, very much. Spoiled her rotten. And I used to berate him and berate him that if he loved his daughter, he should quit smoking.
A couple years ago, he had a heart attack and was in a coma for three days. He collapsed right in front of his daughter. He ended up in the most rundown horrible convalescent home I have ever seen. It was hellish.
Was that enough?
Nope.
He quit for about a month and then took up smoking again.
The last time I saw him, he was gulping like a goldfish. That's the way he existed for the past two years. Sipping air. He could barely draw a breath. And still smoking.
Nicotine is a vicious, vicious addiction. It is stronger than a father's love.
I lost the best friend I have ever had in my entire life three years ago to this shit. He went out the same way. Gasping for air.
If you smoke, STOP! For fuck's sake, STOP.
Do whatever it takes.
And if you catch your kids vaping nicotine, cut them off. Take away their money, their cell phone, their computer, their TV privileges, their sleepover privileges. Make them sleep on a straw bed until they give that shit up.
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