Quitting A Good Idea
Larry Lane knows he shouldn’t smoke. He’s heard all the reasons, seen pictures of cancerous lungs, suffered the heart attack, seen the gunk doctors scraped from his arteries.
But…
“I really did enjoy it,” he says, as hangdog as a kid who’s been grounded.
He hasn’t given up smoking. Not really. He just hasn’t wanted to smoke since his heart attack Sept. 18.
Not that smoking caused the attack. Larry’s not convinced the 300,000 cigarettes he’s smoked in 40 years damaged him as much as the steady diet of biscuit-and-gravy breakfasts and fried chicken dinners.
“I think I pushed myself too far - 16- to 18-hour days, greasy food,” he says, shaking his head. “I don’t think smoking was the cause.”
Still…
Doubt nags at him. His doctor’s warning nags at him. One cigarette could kill him now, his doctor says. Larry sighs, and his salt and pepper beard sinks to his chest.
The heart attack hit him three weeks into a long-haul trucking job. He was in Wisconsin. His wife was home in Athol. He’d dropped 30 pounds on the trip, to 246. He just wasn’t hungry.
Larry, who’s 52, was behind the wheel about to hit the road for North Carolina when his head went light as a helium-filled balloon and his breathing grew difficult. Next came the cold sweat, then the vice grip on his neck and shoulders.
Doctors lost him twice in surgery. They inflated his collapsed artery in three places before sending him home.
Cigarettes turn his stomach right now. He can’t decide if that’s due to his heart medication, which he’ll quit taking in a few weeks, or the fact that his system is finally clean and wants to stay that way.
Larry doesn’t miss the coughing. He does miss the calm.
“I’m hoping I have sense enough to leave it alone,” he says, looking almost apologetically at his wife.
But…
Up in smoke
The Great American Smoke-out isn’t a day most people mark on their calendars. But Kootenai Medical Center’s Sandra Cook says they should.
Nov. 16 is the day to indulge a smoker’s “trying-to-quit” crabbiness - whatever it takes to help him or her stay smoke-free for at least 24 hours.
Sandra encourages people to support smokers who want to quit by adopting them. She’ll run a booth at KMC with all the scary smoking-death statistics on the day of the smoke-out. But she says call her now at 666-3010 for details if you’re planning to adopt.
Only heroes need apply
The U.S. Olympic Committee wants a well-exercised soul more than a fine-tuned body to carry its torch next year. It’s United Way’s job to find those people.
United Way offices have hundreds of applications waiting for the nominations of community heroes. Those are the people who volunteer in the nursing homes and schools, feed the hungry, befriend the lonely, boost everyone’s spirits.
A committee in Boise will pick nine people from the western half of the state to carry the torch through Boise on May 9. Great athletes aren’t necessary; the run is one-third of a mile. Nominations must be in the mail by Nov. 30. Call 667-8112.
Golden years
You don’t have to be old to have a golden year. What about the year you first tried to high jump and found out you were a natural? Or the year you met your best friend for life?
Write about that great year for Close to Home, but choose only the best words, because only 300 will fit. We’ll print the top three or four stories the last week of the year and send those writers a warm thank-you gift.
Replay your favorite time for Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83814; FAX to 765-7149; or call 765-7128.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo