#QuitStories Don's Story
Most of my 10 quit smoking attempts were in the last year that I smoked. One day, I couldn't sleep lying down, I had shortness of breath, and I would cough if I laid down. I went to my doctor and she sent me to a lung specialist. They took an x-ray, pulmonary test, and then a lung biopsy. When the results came back, my doctor called me into her office and told me the results of my test:
"Don, you're going to be on oxygen soon and it's not a pretty sight."
When I got home I told my wife, Eleanor, what my doctor had said. This was the moment I realized I had to quit smoking for good. Eleanor listened to what I was saying and said, "That's it, we're done. You can't quit unless I do!" Right then and there, she chose me over the cigarettes and she came with me to the smoking cessation meeting at KFL&A Public Health that evening. It was such a different quit attempt than I ever had before because I was motivated. When you know you're going to die, you stop, you know. I really had to quit if I wanted to have any fun for the rest of my life.
Eight years later, I had x-rays and pulmonary tests to determine how my lungs were. My doctor said, "Well Don, you don't have interstitial lung fibrosis any more," and at that moment, I felt I had been given a new life, a new freedom, I can now do things that I couldn't do before, and nobody ever told me that would happen.
"After quitting it took eight years before I found out my lungs had recovered. My lungs were getting better because I could shovel out my spot, no problem. I could run up a flight of stairs without getting winded."
#QuitStories: Don (transcript) |
Words on screen/ Male voice off-cameraYou’re going to be on oxygen Don and it’s not a pretty sight.Video descriptionBlack and white. Close up of a senior male wearing a baseball cap sitting in front of a fabric backgroundWords on screenDon, 70. Retired electrician, KingstonDonThe moment I realized I had to quit smoking for good was when Eleanor said, “We’re done. We’re done.” And I knew that that’s how serious it was. I wasn’t all that confident about it. But you know, that was the turning point. That made that quit attempt different than every other quit attempt in my life because I knew that it had to be done. I didn’t know that before. During my quit attempt, I felt anxious, I felt like I was losing control. I felt like I was going to lose my mind. But what I did was, remained smoke-free. That thought never came back. Once I got through the withdrawal, the thought of losing my mind never came back.Voice off-cameraWhat has changed about your health since you quit smoking?DonOh, I’m much freer. Since I quit smoking? I don’t have to carry a pack in my pocket, I don’t have to worry about the rain, you know, I don’t have to worry about paying out… I don’t even know what they cost any more but I’ve got a lot more money! It’s freedom. It is! It’s freedom and people don’t realize that, you know? Like, when you’re smoking, you don’t realize how free someone is who doesn’t smoke. I never knew that! When I stopped smoking, I got stronger because my lungs were getting better.Words on screenTo quit smoking, talk to a health care provider. |
Don's tip to quit smoking:
"In order to cope with the stress of withdrawal I instinctively got out and walked because I remember when I was young that's what made me feel good."
Resources:
- Tobacco - Getting Help - KFL&A Public Health
- Become Tobacco Free - KFL&A Public Health