! to your next 3 years of health & wealth and beyond! Three years ago today I had to make a decision. I was diagnosed with blood clots and a non-cancerous cyst on the base of my spine four months earlier. I was on Coumadin and Lovinox shots, 3x a day to thin my blood. I was seeing an oncologist and hematologist weekly. My healthy vegetable intake was limited due to a drug interaction with Coumadin. I hadn't had broccoli, asparagus, spinach, or anything green in several months because of the drug interaction. My fingers were sore from weekly blood tests. I had poor circulation and tired easily. I was a very unhealthy 43 year old.
On Monday, August 18, my oncologist asked me if I was still smoking, and I said yes. She had been ready to start taking me off the blood thinners, but when she found I hadn't quit yet, she told me that if I didn't quit smoking, I would be on blood thinners the rest of my life. I would never eat broccoli or spinach again. I would have to see her weekly for blood work. And the risk of more blood clots, cysts, tumors, and other illnesses was increasing daily. She wasn't being mean, she was just stating the facts.
I thought about it for a day. How could I quit smoking? I had smoked for 20 years, 2 packs a day. I knew which hotels had smoking balconies. Which airports had smoking lounges. Which restaurants had smoking patios. Smoking was my life. I lived to smoke. I smoked to live. I had to make a choice. Do I keep smoking, or do I start living? I had to make a decision. A decision for me that nobody else could make. I smoked the last cigarette in the pack and threw out my ashtrays and cigarette lighters. OMG….what have I done??? Am I really going to quit smoking?
I'll let you know tomorrow my decision...
