"She was 16 and beautiful..."

[marciem]

This is a post from a brilliant man who quit smoking and wrote a lot of meaningful posts during his journey.  He went by "JWG... the Invisible Man" .  Approx. 3 1/2 years after he quit, he was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer, and passed about 6 weeks after his diagnosis.  He was never 51...

She was 16 and beautiful

Posted on QSMB Jul 25 2010 by JWG.

She was 17 and thought it was cool
She was 18 knew she was in control
She was 19 living in the fast lane
She was 20 and would quit before hitting 21
She was 21 and thought new years eve was better
She was 22 the new job was to much stress right now
She was 23 and her fiancée smoked anyways
She was 24 the baby would be fine, what’s a little nicotine
She was 25 what else is there for a stay at home mom to do
She was 26 job interviews are just to demanding
She was 27 in this job you have to be social
She was 28 her uncle just died but she would be alright
She was 29 thinking this time Im ready and 30 is my number
She was 30 maybe just one more year
She was 31 who can handle a divorce all alone
She was 32 working two jobs and life’s to hard
She was 33 and the new boy friend doesn’t mind anyhow
She was 34 wedding plans are all she could do
She was 35 his kids are so wild , just need the break time to time
She was 36 a quit would have to wait , to much on her plate
She was 37 forty wont be to late
She was 38 a daughter and two steps sons a mini van and career
She was 39 one more year and so done
She was 40 are you crazy and gain weight
She was 41 and probably couldn’t anyways
She was 42 and enjoy smoking

She was 43 but I should try, just for a month
She was 44 her little girl smoking, and wonders what went wrong
She was 45 The Doctor said it wasn’t good
She was never 46

[MarilynH]

Wow thank you for sharing this great awe inspiring blog post with all of us.....

[alysonoholic]

Oof, this squeezed pretty hard on my heart. It's scary knowing how much damage I've done over the years and knowing it could very well still come back to haunt me. Still, this is a very important reminder of the truth of our addiction. 

[Mike.n.Atlanta]

An all too familiar story.

[minihorses]

I had another wake-up call today before I even came out to EX.  I realized that I'm going to be 53 this year.  I have an AARP member card for god's sake!  What have I done? Why didn't I quit for good all the other times I tried instead of short term quits? How much damage to my health have I caused?  It scared me and still does. Today has been full of revelations and both of them have strengthened my resolve to never, ever put a demon in my mouth again.  Thanks again for posting this!

[autumnpepper]

I totally relate!  I'm 56 and have been trying to quit for more than 20yrs.  I have been able to cut down to a pack a year before.  Now in back to a pack a week.  Well actually before I found this site I was even having a hard time making that pack last that long!  Needed to read this post.  I haven't got my quit date yet but I've got my quit kit ready!  

[elvan]

Thanks for posting this marciem‌, it really is poignant.

Ellen

[marciem]

John loved supporting other quitters with his words.   Unfortunately, they were all on QSMB and many posts lost (the way-back machine can pick up a few). 

He would be honored and humbled to know that his words are still encouraging and inspiring quitters, and I'll try to keep posting some of my favorites that I've managed to save.  As I said, he could be very poignant, and at other times hilarious.  Sometimes he had to drag himself back to the topic at hand (quitting smoking of course), but it kept everyone busy reading , another form of support for early quitters   .

[elvan]

I still remember a 36 year old patient who came in for a vein ligation.  This was back in the day when people were admitted to the hospital for pre-operative testing.  She had young children and had developed some pretty severe varicose veins so she needed blood work, an EKG, and a chest xray before the anesthesiologist would visit her and explain what she could expect.  I worked the 3-11 shift as a supervisor and when I came in, I got report from the previous supervisor on every patient in the hospital.  This patient was on the third floor and that's always where we started, she got to her room and her name and she burst out crying.  I asked her what was wrong and she kept pointing down to the kardex which is where we wrote notes from our shift to be sure to convey to the NEXT shift.  There it was in great big letters that she had lung cancer and that it was not only in both lungs, it was in the bronchioles which was like having it in the trunk of the tree and then extending out to all of the branches.  She had JUST been told that there was absolutely no hope.  I will never forget the feeling of complete and total defeat that all of us felt and our feelings were nothing compared to the patient and her family members.  By the time she finished report, we were both sobbing...we were also both smokers.  How incredibly sad.  We were all in the same age group.  She did not stay at our hospital, she was transferred the next day but I remember hearing that she did not make it, none of us expected her to but what a horrible waste and how ridiculous that it did not hit us that we were not immune either. Such incredible sadness, such a lovely young woman.

Ellen

[Giulia]

Wow, Ellen.  What a potent telling.

[elvan]

Giulia‌ Made me cry writing it as I remembered that day and that sad, sad diagnosis.