Quitting
Eddie is back home, and looking forward to eating
some solid food.
There was a bit of alarm the day after the operation,
when he collapsed while attempting to walk. The nurses in Intensive Care had him
back in bed seconds later, plugged into the various tubes and wires that are
their stock in trade. After numerous scans and tests a doctor came in and
drained about a cup of fluid from under one lung. The pain decreased and his
blood oxygen levels returned to
normal.
They kept him in ICU an extra two days but the day after the incident he was clearly making a strong recovery. Two more days in a regular ward and he was walking the hallways. When Jo-Ann and I came to pick him up Monday morning the staff gave him their best wishes and a script for morphine. "Take it easy," they warned. "No heavy lifting."
For a guy who hadn't had anything other than ice chips to eat for more than a week, and had stopped smoking at the same time, Eddie was in great spirits. It's going to be a few more days before he can have a steak. He's very determined though, that this time he's off tobacco for good.
Jo-Ann has quit too, and is more worried that's she's going to relapse. She started her final cigarette at the hospital, joining several doctors and nurses outside on the side walk. She nursed that cigarette over the weekend, a few puffs at a time, and then flushed the rest of the pack down the toilet. She's going to try an anti-smoking drug that's just become available in Canada. According to the manufacturer:
Jo-Ann and Eddie have already tried nicotine patches and Zyban, as well as simply going cold turkey. They have been trying to quit for years. They've both watched family members die rather nasty deaths caused or aggravated by smoking.
My dad died when his legs lost circulation because of hundreds of tumors metastasized from his lung cancer. The doctors wouldn't amputate because the rest of his body was riddled as well. The poisons from the gangrene caused multiple organ failure.
Eddie had a brother whose hardened leg arteries did result in amputations, but still died because of other complications. He smoked to the day he died. Now Eddie has the very same problem.
Jo-Ann got her anti-smoking pills Monday night but can't take them yet. When she saw her doctor the other day he discovered her smoker's cough was actually a lung infection. She can't start the Varenicline until she finishes the antibiotics and steroids he prescribed for that.
Regardless, I think she and Eddie are going to succeed this time around.
They kept him in ICU an extra two days but the day after the incident he was clearly making a strong recovery. Two more days in a regular ward and he was walking the hallways. When Jo-Ann and I came to pick him up Monday morning the staff gave him their best wishes and a script for morphine. "Take it easy," they warned. "No heavy lifting."
For a guy who hadn't had anything other than ice chips to eat for more than a week, and had stopped smoking at the same time, Eddie was in great spirits. It's going to be a few more days before he can have a steak. He's very determined though, that this time he's off tobacco for good.
Jo-Ann has quit too, and is more worried that's she's going to relapse. She started her final cigarette at the hospital, joining several doctors and nurses outside on the side walk. She nursed that cigarette over the weekend, a few puffs at a time, and then flushed the rest of the pack down the toilet. She's going to try an anti-smoking drug that's just become available in Canada. According to the manufacturer:
Varenicline works by stimulating the nicotinic receptors in the brain. This produces an effect that relieves the craving and withdrawal symptoms you can get when you stop smoking. At the same time, varenicline blocks nicotine from acting on the receptors. This prevents any nicotine inhaled in tobacco smoke from having a rewarding and enjoyable effect.
Jo-Ann and Eddie have already tried nicotine patches and Zyban, as well as simply going cold turkey. They have been trying to quit for years. They've both watched family members die rather nasty deaths caused or aggravated by smoking.
My dad died when his legs lost circulation because of hundreds of tumors metastasized from his lung cancer. The doctors wouldn't amputate because the rest of his body was riddled as well. The poisons from the gangrene caused multiple organ failure.
Eddie had a brother whose hardened leg arteries did result in amputations, but still died because of other complications. He smoked to the day he died. Now Eddie has the very same problem.
Jo-Ann got her anti-smoking pills Monday night but can't take them yet. When she saw her doctor the other day he discovered her smoker's cough was actually a lung infection. She can't start the Varenicline until she finishes the antibiotics and steroids he prescribed for that.
Regardless, I think she and Eddie are going to succeed this time around.
Posted: Wed - May 16, 2007 at 11:09 AM
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Published On: Sep 12, 2007 03:13 PM
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Published On: Sep 12, 2007 03:13 PM