Donna Quit Smoking 3 Years Ago

I feel so fortunate that I am now a LIVING non-smoker, instead of a DEAD smoker.

One day, during a particularly bad craving spell, I went in search of long "butts." I found one in an outside ashtray. I grabbed my lighter and lit the sucker, and in the process, a gust of wind came along and the right side of my hair caught on fire! You can only imagine my panic. The lit cigarette was tossed into the ashtray while I proceeded to beat on my head with my hands to put the fire out. The stench of burnt hair was sickening. The panic had my heart going at 200 miles per hour, it seemed. I managed to get the fire out before too much damage was done. It changed my hair-do quite a bit, which I had to deal with by cutting my hair on the other side to match...and it singed the hair on that side of my face...but no scars or major damage was done from the burn. At that point I should have thrown the lighter away and said I'M DONE WITH CIGARETTES, ONCE AND FOR ALL!!! Right? That's what any SANE person would have done. But no.....that's where the evil side of my brain (commonly known as nico-demon) kicked in and told me..."The reason your hair caught on fire is because you were trying to light a butt. You need a WHOLE cigarette." So...instead of deciding that that was it for me as far as not smoking, I jumped in my car and sped to the nearest store and bought a pack of cigarettes.

From there I returned "not" to my previous 2-pack per day habit but to a one pack per day habit. I consoled myself by saying I had at least cut my habit in half. Well, guess what. Cutting a smoking habit in half is not good enough. It is not a solution. You either smoke...or you don't. PERIOD!! Mainly because, the deadly disease of emphysema does not recognize the fact that smoking has been cut down. With every puff, the damage just gets worse. Never better!!! What this all boils down to is that in early February of 2002. I developed what I thought was a cold...or possibly the flu. I had fever, chills and coughing like you wouldn't believe.you know the feeling...just sick all over. On February 5th, 2002 it got so bad that I couldn't breathe anymore without coughing. I couldn't take a step or two without gasping for air. I felt like I was drowning when I tried to lie down to sleep, so I spent a night sitting up and trying to get some sleep.

The next morning I was so weak that I had to hold on to my legs, the wall or what ever I could just to walk and to try to breathe at the same time. It had been since 1997 since I'd been to a doctor. My regular doctor had retired and I hadn't bothered to replace him. I called another doctor and tried to get in to see him. I was told "Sorry, he's not accepting anymore patients." In desperation, I called my friend. Crying and gasping for air, I told her I didn't know what to do. I needed to see a doctor but didn't have one any more. She told me that she would be here within the hour to take me in for medical help. Since I didn't have a doctor anymore, she took me to the hospital, emergency department. Within minutes I was put on oxygen. Which helped a little. Four hours later, after chest X-rays, a breathing treatment, and prescriptions for antibiotics and an inhaler, I was released with instructions NOT TO SMOKE. I had pneumonia....And that was on top of chronic emphysema and chronic bronchitis. (The chronic bronchitis part of it was news to me.)

That did it for me. On February sixth, 2002, I became a non-smoker. I had my LAST cigarette on February 5, 2002. I feel so fortunate that I am now a LIVING non-smoker, instead of a DEAD smoker. I hope that anyone that reads this can quit BEFORE the problems begin. But, if not, please take heed and read with the thought that "This could be you."

I wish you all well. Donna =^..^= (Donna14359)