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Share your quitting journey

Counting down

elvan
Member
0 30 175

Dear friends,

This will be my last blog until after my surgery on Monday morning.  I am scheduled to arrive at the hospital at 6:30AM for the surgery at 7:30.  I guess it’s best to be the first surgery on the schedule, it will be over earlier in the day.  I will admit that my heart started pounding faster when I got the call, for crying out loud, I go back and forth between excitement and complete terror.  Once again, it is not the pain I am afraid of, it is the possibility of not being able to breathe and needing a ventilator.  THAT scares me and I don’t like being “tied” down, with tubes in my chest connected to wall suction and IV’s and oxygen…you get the picture.  I am promising myself that I will be a model patient (that would be a first).  I am going to do the deep breathing and coughing they want me to do and I am going to get up as soon as they want me to…I am not going to criticize their medical skills no matter what I may think.

For those of you who are into numbers…I am 66 years old, my surgery is on the 16th, I have to be at the hospital at 6:30…now, get ready for THIS…it will be my 666th smoke free day!  Oh, Wednesday, I went to have my lab work and my EKG and the receptionist and two technicians share my birthday 9/9.  Clearly they are much younger but in 66 years, I have never met anyone with the same birthday…hmmmm.

I love you all and I thank you for all of your love and support and your prayers…Nancy (Youngatheart) will be in contact with my youngest daughter who will let her know how things went after the surgery is over.  I could not get through this without all of you.

I have written notes to my husband, each of my children, and my two grandchildren in case things do not go well.  I want them, like you, to know how much you have meant to me and how grateful I am that you have been in my life.  If you comment on this blog and I don’t get a chance to thank you on your message board, please know that it is not that I do not value every single one of you, I just have things to do.

Please keep me and my family in your prayers. You mean the world to me.

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About the Author
Retired RN, worked ICU/ER developed RA in early 90's, unable to work because of brittle bones from high dose steroids. Diagnosed with COPD 5 yrs ago but sure it was there and progressing long before. Live with severe chronic pain, degenerative disc disease, had both upper lobes of my lungs removed in 2015. Struggle with shortness of breath. Work in son's cafe as a cashier 2 days a week to be around people. I am a people/animal person. Lost my home and three cats in a fire on my ten month anniversary of quitting smoking. Never thought of smoking, knew it wouldn't help anything.