I have put off writing this for a long time. I have buried these things for many years and think it is time to unearth them.
Because so many responded to how the Caravan began, I will fill in a little more for you.
My mother was diagnosed with an enlarged heart in approx. 1970. She had smoked for many years. She quit smoking several times after that, but my father would not join her and she relapsed every time.
She went through a pregnancy and delivered my baby sister in 1974. She continued smoking all along.
In 1990, she suffered a massive M.I. and passed away. She was 56 years old. The doctors think she was in acute Diabetic Coma as her blood sugar was over 500 when she passed. I know that the smoking contributed greatly to this.
My Dad was diagnosed with a tumor in his skull around 1988. Surgery removed it and a large portion of his skullcap. His body rejected the implant that replaced his bone and had to be removed.
In 1992, he developed a blood cancer. He outlived the 6 months they gave him whn he was first diagnosed in 1992. Through many rounds of Chemo, he continued smoking. He finally quit in 1996 and stayed quit.
The Cancer came back numerous times. Finally, in 1999, Dad walked the Hanging Road to the Ancestor Lands. He was 70 years old.
Once again, I lost someone to sickorettes.
In 1989, my brother had a massive M.I. and underwent an emergency quadruple bypass. He was 34 years old. He had been a diabetic for 10 years at the time. He smoked heavily.
He did quit smoking at that time. He remained smoke-free until 2012 when he had another massive M.I. and passed in his sleep. He was 56 at the time.
Another victim of sickorettes.
You would have though that I would have quit smoking many years earlier when I lost my Mom.
NOPE!!
I was hardheaded and just kept smoking away.
A little over a year after my brother passed, I underwent my own bypass. I was 54.
I threw my sickorettes away and have never looked back.
My journey is in the blogs I have posted here. I really hope that those blog posts help others to remain smokefree, or quit smoking.
Now is the best time to throw those Death Sticks away. If not for yourself, do it for your family.
I lost my health and 3 family members to sickorettes. I have lost many friends to them also.
That is why I wander the desert of NML each day trying to aid other travelers out there.
Stay strong my fellow travelers.
One step, and then another, will get you to where you want to be.
Larry the Caravan Master
