I never thought 4 years ago that I would be where I am today. I can celebrate two life-changing events at the same time.
At 11:00 the night of October 21, 2013, I lit my last sick-o-rette. I was extremely apprehensive about the next day.
I was sceduled to undergo triple bypass surgery.
Would everything go as planned?
Would I wake up from surgery?
All kinds of questions were flying through my mind.
I was prepped and went into surgery the next morning. I am told that there were several surprises for my surgeon, but things went pretty well. I came out of surgery and the waiting game began.
I only remember small snatches of time for a while. Three days later I was allowed to fully wake up. Most of the tubes and wires were gone by that time.
I was still here to torment the family. That thought assured me that I was to be OK. My life was drastically altered and would never be quite the same.
I never really had to deal with the first stages of withdrawal from the nicotine. I do know from my studies that it would have been even worse than when I had to withdraw from some other substances earlier in my life.
I did have the thoughts and the cravings to light another one up. I also knew that if I did light up a sick-o-rette, I would be throwing my surgery and my life away. I fought through the cravings.
I finally got to leave the hospital for good a month later after Pneumonia and a possible MI scare. I now had to figure out how to stay away from the death sticks.
I found this site during a search on Google. I figured I might as well have a look and see what the site was like. That was in November of 2013. I have never looked back and have stayed around here ever since.
I was right when I said my life would change 4 years ago. I can't walk very far without stopping to rest and catch my breath. I have new friends in my nebulizer and my inhaler. My cane is my constant companion.
However, I am still alive and breathing. For that I thank the medical team that has cared for me since my surgery. They have dealt with all the problems I have encountered the last 4 years.
The biggest thank you has to go to my EX family though. You have all stood by me and helped me past some tough times and health revelations. I am so glad that I had all this support to lean on when I needed it most.
Today I can celebrated 4 years of a new life, and 4 years of being free from the chains of nicotine addiction. I can only hope that I can help others here as well as those that helped me when I needed it most.
Thank you one and all for being here all these years ....
I truly believe the words I always include when I write here .....
One step, and then another, will get you to where you want to be.
Larry the Caravan Master
