A Resolution Kept

He started smoking in his teens. To be cool, just like his friends.

The habit continued for his whole life. Here and there he tried to quit, or cut back, but never quite stopped. When the price of cigarettes went through the roof, he switched to those little filtered cigars. You could get two packs for the same price as a single pack of cigarettes. The cigars smelled worse, as did his clothes, his car, and everything else, but they provided the nicotine satisfaction he craved.

Not even a month after his fiftieth birthday, he awoke one morning to the classic symptoms of his left arm numb, pain in his jaw, and a massive weight on his chest. He knew what it was. A heart attack.

He was able to get out of bed and take two aspirin, something a nurse said probably saved his life. He managed to walk to the living room. His wife said he looked terrible and called 9-1-1.

A policeman arrived almost before she hung up the phone. An ambulance wasn’t far behind.

It was 7 a.m. on a quiet January 2nd. The alcohol-related problems of the New Year celebrations had been handled the day before.

The hospital emergency room wasn’t busy. He was the only customer. The staff went right to work on him and he was in a bed in the Cardiac Care Unit before lunch.

He spent four days in the CCU, undergoing various tests. Bouncing back, he was discharged from the CCU, something that rarely happened, as most heart attack victims languished a few more days in the hospital in a less strict environment.

Whatever could be considered “good” about his heart attack, was. Everything went in his favor. The quick response of the police and EMTs, the empty emergency room and the immediate care, even the food was good.

His last cigar was on the way home from work late on January 1^st. He watched a little TV, had a drink, and went to bed. The next morning was when it all happened.

Four days without a smoke proved he could do it. It was time to make good on that half-hearted annual resolution attempt that was quickly forgotten, year after year.

As far as heart attacks went, his was minor, but still a heart attack. Lifestyle changes loomed ahead.

He describes giving up smoking this way: “The roof of the hospital opened up and this big hand reached in and smacked me in the head. A loud voice demanded, ‘Are you listening now?’ This time I did.”

Fifteen years later, he’s still tobacco-free.