Smoking or No Smoking

I was asked recently what my rules were for smoking in my home. . I am sorry to say I smoked also and it was easy for rules with me. You had to go out doors for a cigarette and I was surprised that anyone would. I was a heavy smoker—up to 4 packs a day!!! Now I wonder how I managed but it just seemed like I lit one and put it down and than another. Dr. Pitkin tried many times to get me to quit but I was not to smart. I thought I could escape the bad effects. That thought stayed with me for many years and than my husband died. He did not have lung cancer so I still thought I was OK. Than my second husband died and this was from lung cancer!! Now I am getting worried and the final blow was when my sister dies from lung cancer.
I decided I better do something because this was serious. I was diagnosed as COPD. I knew now I had to quit but nothing seemed to work Than I discovered the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. I called and they got me in for the eight day program. This is easy to do—all you need to do is look up Mayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota and look for the NICOTINE DEPENDENCE CENTER. This is a remarkable place. You only stay for 8 days ( a lot of insurance programs pay for this ) and when you are out eight days later your smoke free!! I am happy to say I have never smoked again. I can't believe it only took 8 days to quit when I tried for many years!!! My big regret is I didn't quit sooner.
I had a lady who had lung cancer and was on oxygen 24 hours . She was so nice but so sick, weighed about 90 pounds. It was very hard for her to even walk to the table to eat let alone go to the bathroom. She just loved living in my home-thought this was just the cats meow!! Than one day the great STATE OF NEW YORK decided I could not have people on oxygen. It seems you had to be a nurse to set the dial on the oxygen machine. It didn't matter that I had been in business for 20 years they knew more than me. Of course I had many folks on oxygen, dear reader, over the years. The thing that made this so bad was she wanted to stay in my home for her last days. I made a phone call and asked if someone could let me know when the state was going to do an inspection. The person agreed so I waited. Sure enough one morning I got a phone call and all the person said was “Today is it”. There was no name or anything. So we waited. I had told Lucy what was going on and she knew she would lose her oxygen for about 10 minutes. It wasn't long and the inspector arrived. When they came in we introduced everyone and they went to check on the bedrooms. As soon as they came out of the bedroom Lucy said she needed to go to the bathroom. We were lucky because I had four bathrooms. Lucy goes in the bathroom and yells out she is going to take a shower. I said that was ok to go right ahead. I asked her if she needed help and she said “No”!! About 5 minutes later the inspector left and we rescued Lucy from the bathroom where she set with her oxygen on and the water just running. She had the biggest smile on you ever saw!!! We had put the oxygen machine in the tub and draped the shower curtain over it. It worked. Lucy lived about three more months and died in her sleep but I know she was happy to be where she was loved. Lucy was a person who only had her Social Security and there were not many places you could live on that but she was one of "My People" so she stayed. I always tried to cooperate with the state but I dealt with people not rules. If I complied with their rules many people would not have been with me, dear reader, but I will save that story for another time.....
Love to all Red