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12/06/2017
My family planned a semi-intervention with my Mom for smoking. She was diagnosed with COPD and this was her last crutch, as she had been a heavy drinker in the past. We considered bringing in a therapist, as we've heard you suggest to others, but my family thought our very introverted mother would not take kindly to a stranger advising her so we decided not to bring one in, but to go ahead with the meeting anyway.
We researched everything we could on smoking cessation, and the physical and emotional struggles she would face. We had the meeting several weeks ago, and she hasn't smoked since!
Many years of listening to you gave me the courage to get our family members together to face this head on. We explained our concerns about her quality of life since we had had a family member die of the same thing and it was not pretty. We wanted her retirement to be an adventure and not a struggle for her health. We went over all the different options available, letting her know how much we loved her and wanted her in our lives and not in a hospital bed tied to an air tube. She made no promises that day, but after a few days, she confirmed that she had stopped and was taking it day by day. I had promised her that if she quit, I, a smoker as well, would also quit. Even though we didn't use an outside therapist, I think we made the meeting a success and now my mother and I are two of the many former smokers. Each day we both have a better chance of a healthful life.
Terry
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