I had mentioned in the quit smoking thread that my brother was having a lung transplant from all the years of smoking. He is 61. He had his left lung replaced and the right one "shaved down" to fit his body cavity so that it did not push on his other organs. Apparently years of gasping for breath makes the lung very large.
He had the transplant 3 weeks ago tomorrow. He was released from hospital today at 2 pm. He will be going to the retirement residence/senior's home close to the hospital where he will be for the next three months. We had initially thought he could stay with us but we are too far from the hospital and he needs to go there 3 times per week and someone has to go with him. I could not do that without quitting my job which just wasn't feasible. He also needed at least 3 full meals per day in order to gain enough weight to qualify for the operation (he was only 106 lbs and he needed to be a minimum of 110). That would have been very difficult for me with working, etc. I leave the house at 7:30 a.m. and don't get home until after 6:00 p.m. so I don't have a lot of time to be preparing meals. We do have a good meal each evening but both have our breakfast and lunch outside. I get my toast and jam every morning for $1.50 and since I spent more than that on cigarettes, I don't feel bad buying that every morning.
Fred is doing very well, he feels free for the first time in over a year since he no longer is hooked up to an oxygen machine 24/7. He is still weak and needs a walker and/or cane to get around, but he's alive with a good lung. He said he felt like a dog on a leash with the oxygen tubes. He will gain strength each day and has to go to physio 3 days per week at the hospital so he'll soon not need the walker/cane.
Those of you who knew about this and sent healing vibes, thank you. I'm happy for my bro and wanted to share my happiness in a world where we often only hear of the miseries.
I will pray that each and every one of you who smoke will find the strength to quit. I have been diagnosed with COPD as well, but I'm not as bad as my brother was thankfully, but, I am restricted in how much physical activity I can manage at one time. That is very frustrating for someone like me who loves sports and has always been active. I've had to slow down considerably but I can still do most things as long as I do them slowly and not try to act like a 20 year old.
I smoked for 49 years and quit on January 16 - 5 months and I honestly don't crave them or miss it.
He had the transplant 3 weeks ago tomorrow. He was released from hospital today at 2 pm. He will be going to the retirement residence/senior's home close to the hospital where he will be for the next three months. We had initially thought he could stay with us but we are too far from the hospital and he needs to go there 3 times per week and someone has to go with him. I could not do that without quitting my job which just wasn't feasible. He also needed at least 3 full meals per day in order to gain enough weight to qualify for the operation (he was only 106 lbs and he needed to be a minimum of 110). That would have been very difficult for me with working, etc. I leave the house at 7:30 a.m. and don't get home until after 6:00 p.m. so I don't have a lot of time to be preparing meals. We do have a good meal each evening but both have our breakfast and lunch outside. I get my toast and jam every morning for $1.50 and since I spent more than that on cigarettes, I don't feel bad buying that every morning.
Fred is doing very well, he feels free for the first time in over a year since he no longer is hooked up to an oxygen machine 24/7. He is still weak and needs a walker and/or cane to get around, but he's alive with a good lung. He said he felt like a dog on a leash with the oxygen tubes. He will gain strength each day and has to go to physio 3 days per week at the hospital so he'll soon not need the walker/cane.
Those of you who knew about this and sent healing vibes, thank you. I'm happy for my bro and wanted to share my happiness in a world where we often only hear of the miseries.
I will pray that each and every one of you who smoke will find the strength to quit. I have been diagnosed with COPD as well, but I'm not as bad as my brother was thankfully, but, I am restricted in how much physical activity I can manage at one time. That is very frustrating for someone like me who loves sports and has always been active. I've had to slow down considerably but I can still do most things as long as I do them slowly and not try to act like a 20 year old.
