[size=3][color=blue]Unhooked, bea32, alohakeia, fagashlynne, nonic, pete, Anna, penguin, and Danielle...
Thank you! It was really cool to read your comments and to receive such a warm welcome back here. I've missed hangin' out with y'all. :)
I wondered if anyone would comment on the fork in the road, hehe. nonic, I shoulda known it'd be you. :p When I found that graphic, it totally cracked me up, I just had to use it.
There were a couple really powerful reasons why I felt compelled to put together something that was hopefully meaningful... specifically my husband and my best friend, both of whom had recent hospital stays.
As for my husband, he quit with me on January 1st. Since then, he's slipped a few times and didn't tell me. In fact, he lied about it and only admitted it when I actually caught him in our back yard behind the shed with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. I told him, "I don't want you to smoke, but I really don't want you to lie." He said he just didn't want me to be disappointed in him.
Well, Thursday he was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. The doctor let him go home yesterday but warned him to never, ever smoke again. He told my husband that he has emphysema, that it is not reversible, in fact it's degenerative. We were both stunned.
As for my best friend, she spent three days in the hospital about two weeks ago for abdominal pain. While she was in there, they did a chest x-ray and saw a "shadow" on her lung. They're going to be doing a CT scan next week to get a better look.
Since she'd been smoke-free for three days in the hospital, she figured she might as well quit smoking altogether. I was thrilled! Less than twenty-four hours later she was smoking again. I cried.
I pray every hour for these two people that I love, to reach that place, that "fork in the road," where they will decide for themselves to never, ever smoke again.
For this reason, the PowerPoint I put together has a focus that is really aimed toward either a smoker or a newbie quitter.
Hugs&hugs,
Sammi [/size][/color]
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B]1/1/2007
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 258
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 7,740
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $774.00
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 26 [B]Hrs:[/B] 14 [B]Mins:[/B] 26 [B]Seconds:[/B] 18