My mom started having problems with her health back in 2006. She was limping; complaining that her little toe hurt. The toe was dark, so we both assumed it was bruised and that she must have stubbed it. When it failed to get better, my dad and I took her to a podiatrist. After examining her toe and expressing his displeasure at the condition of it, he called her regular doctor, who told us to take Mom to the ER.
Turns out her toe was gangrenous from lack of circulation. I never would have guessed that; I always thought gangrene would be accompanied by an unmistakably foul odor, but I learned that is not always the case. Her doctor ran some tests on her and discovered that her right carotid artery was 95% blocked. Since there were no cardiovascular surgeons in our area at the time, she was sent to Milwaukee to have the surgery.
While she was there, they discovered that the circulation in her right leg was blocked from her hip all the way down to her foot. She had a second surgery to restore the blood flow; stents were put in. Her doctor and I had been nagging her to quit smoking for years, but all of his warnings and my pleas fell on deaf ears. Even after she got the call from her doctor warning her that if she did not quit she was going to lose her leg, she still didn't believe him.
So strong is my mother's addiction that she still denies that it had anything to do with her losing her leg or damaging her lungs to the extent that she struggles for every breath. The look of bewilderment and fear in her eyes when she can't catch her breath is agonizing to see.
Thank you, Big Tobacco, for not giving a damn about what your product does to your loyal customers and their families in the long run. My mom will suffer horribly (and I along with her) as she slowly suffocates until the day she dies, and I have no doubt that she would sing the praises of your product from beyond the grave if she could. You ruined our lives, and I hate you for it. You make me sick.
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