KaBar2 Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 My mom has been very ill for about eight months or so. She smoked cigarettes for about forty years (1942-1986) and it really damaged her lungs. She had a disease called COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) which is a lot like emphysema. Last April she had a heart valve replacement. The mitral valve in her heart went bad, and it was causing her to be tired and breathless all the time, because it was leaking pressure back through her lungs. Normally the low-pressure side of the heart (which provides pulmonary circulation through the lungs) operates at a blood pressure of about 24/10. The high-pressure side operates at about 120/70. But, if the low-pressure side has faulty valves, the high-pressure side "leaks" pressure "backwards" through the mitral valve, creating pressures like around 100/70 where it's supposed to be 24/10. This causes the heart to become enlarged, as the right-side ventricle gets bigger and stronger and more muscular to handle the increased pressures. This DECREASES the interior volume of the right ventricle (or "chamber" of the heart.) This enlargement, combined with the higher stresses and pulmonary demands created by COPD, and her depressed mood associated with being on a ventilator to breathe, resulted in my mom refusing to eat, and her eventual loss of weight and strength. She was very uncomfortable, and only partially concious for short periods for about a week. I asked the staff to provide her with morphine and Ativan for pain and anxiety and agitation. They did. She finally stopped breathing after a long, long struggle at 11:05 a.m. For God's sake, if you use tobacco, QUIT NOW while you still have your health. Because if you don't, there is a horrible, painful death awaiting you thirty or forty years from now. I loved my mother very much, and I really miss my Mom. But there are things worse than death, and living for months on a ventilator is one of them. RIP Mom. I wish she had never smoked cigarettes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Quickwood Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 damn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poop Man Bob Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 RIP. My condolences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old*824 Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Let me offer my sincere condolences Kabar. I just quit smoking and your story has left me far more determined to remain a quitter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
23578 Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 sorry to hear that kabar standard issue marine core knife guy hopefully there's a spot in heaven for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClueTwo Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Sorry to hear about your mother. This is really making me contemplate smoking. Good luck with everything man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETO Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 R.I.P I'm sorry to hear about your mother. My deepest and most sincere condolences My prayers go out to you and her God bless... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Rage- Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Damn. My dad's been straightr smoking (and drinking) for nearly 40 years as well. We've asked him to quit for years to no avail. To each thier own. Stay up KaBar. nakone is in the same boat, he lost his mom (somewhat) recently. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyl junkie Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 friday is supposed to be my last day to smoke... i've had this planned for a month now... sorry to hear, kabar... cheers to you and your mom... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubbish heap Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 a man with cancer in his throat came into our school the other day. he couldn't talk normally, so he had to hold a larynx machine up to his throat, making that robotic type voice. anyways, he smoked cigarettes for 30 years and started a family. he's unable to do things like shower, because he has to breathe through a hole in his throat. the sad thing is, his sister and wife see what he has to go through every day, and yet they still smoke and haven't made an effort to stop. RIP, KABAR'S MOTHER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EyeforAnEYE Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 my condolences man, sorry to hear that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abracadabra Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 http://www.herc.research.med.va.gov/images/flowers.jpg'> hopefully she's chillin somewhere like this now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rectum Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Originally posted by Mr. ABC http://www.herc.research.med.va.gov/images/flowers.jpg'> hopefully she's chillin somewhere like this now amen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DISCO BRYSO Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 ...stay up KaBar.. I'm sure your mother would be proud of the outreach and awareness you spread in such a wonderful way. some of your experiences have helped me understand your opinions and this is one of those things that give me even more respect for you. I don't know a single soul who would have the heart to provide an accurate account of such a gruesome death publicly and with such candor. or even withstand the angry opposition this forum has to adult opinions. may she rest in peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunm Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 kabar.....just today i was wondering when we'd see another one of your insightful and informative posts....I'm so sorry to hear of this news. you have my most sincere condolences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TEARZ Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 kabar, i know we certainly have had our differences before, but i truly am sorry to hear about your loss. i quit smoking several years ago- i used to smoke newports and bidis (retired thug life), so i wonder how much damage i did. i also wonder how much stronger i would be at cycling without those years of damage, and i hope that i don't pay for smoking that bullshit down the line- but at least i stopped. again, i'm sorry man. take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoink Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Very sorry to hear about this KaBar rest in Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gfreshsushi Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Originally posted by vinyl junkie friday is supposed to be my last day to smoke... i've had this planned for a month now... do you have any idea how many dozens of times i've heard you "quit tomorrow"? am i in the exact same boat? are all of us who are hopelessly addicted to cigarettes and self-destructive behavior patterns all doomed to pay for our youthful digressions in ripe old age, if we make it? am i depressed now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jades_blue Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 I'm sorry. My heart goes out to you and yours.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telo Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 word man.. everyone passes.. it was her time and you must get through it and live your life to its full potential .. Now someone is looking over her and its out of your hands.. she will be ok.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avils Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 condolences to you and the family dude. :( your message has been heeded... i gave up smoking a few months ago and this compounds the fact. stay up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatbastard Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 condolences, at least she lived out a great ammount of her life. keep your head up...remember shes in a better place now and happier than she ever would have been down here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S@T@N Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 I'm sorry, Kabar. At least she's not feeling that pain now... right? I don't know if that's consolation or what, just know I feel for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seeking Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 condolences Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smart Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 I'm sorry for your loss. I don't know what else to say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted December 3, 2003 Author Share Posted December 3, 2003 My sincerest thanks for the condolences She is in a better place, I hope. The pic posted above sure enough looks like my idea of what heaven ought to be like. My wife and I were talking about it on the way home from San Antone. I figure that, in Heaven, my Mom is about thirty, dressed up and going dancing. She loved Big Band music, and before she got sick, she could dance the Lindy like you've never seen. Ever see one of those WWII movies where couples dance and do all kinds of acrobatics? Back in the day, she and my Dad did that kind of dancing. She bought her first motorcycle at age fifty. Taught my sisters how to play the guitar when they were all vey small. She loved Travis McGee novels. She rode a horse to elementary school. She and my father were distant cousins. They met because my father's mother had gone through the family tree, trying to find out if there were any relatives close by the Army hospital that my father was in. She visited him in Brooke Army Hospital, they fell in love and got married when the war was over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Damn..... It's ironic, a friend of mine started smoking AFTER his mother died. She died of cancer, nothing tobacco-related, but he felt depressed and picked up smoking for some strange reason (When i asked him why he started smoking he usually answered back "do you want to live forever?"). That was about 3 years ago and he's already addicted. He regrets it now, but can't do anything about it. He tried quitting, but only managed to stay away from cigarettes for a few months. Check out thetruth.com for some facts about the filthy tobacco-industry. Pass that url to every smoker. Smoking really kills and cigarettes make you pay A LOT of money for your own death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S@T@N Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 Originally posted by igor Damn..... It's ironic, a friend of mine started smoking AFTER his mother died. She died of cancer, nothing tobacco-related, but he felt depressed and picked up smoking for some strange reason (When i asked him why he started smoking he usually answered back "do you want to live forever?"). That was about 3 years ago and he's already addicted. He regrets it now, but can't do anything about it. He tried quitting, but only managed to stay away from cigarettes for a few months. Check out thetruth.com for some facts about the filthy tobacco-industry. Pass that url to every smoker. Smoking really kills and cigarettes make you pay A LOT of money for your own death. I have a similar story. I have a friend whose father passed away 3 weeks before mine did, from lung cancer. I don't think he ever smoked but he worked in a laundromat when he was a teen, and they worked with some pretty fucked up chemicals. Anyway, he started smoking pot to get over, and got pretty hooked. Recently, I learned he's moved into chain smoking... and I don't think he even realizes the irony of it. Sorry to put this in your thread Kabar, but I hope this serves as an illustration of some sort for those kids who smoke consistently and don't realize they're sucking their lives out through paper straws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest amorphic Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 You're a good guy Kabar. I'm sorry that happened. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikro137 Posted December 3, 2003 Share Posted December 3, 2003 my condolences as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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