My husband has been home for 2 full weeks now, and is improving every day. Not dramatically, as into instant Hercules, but improving none-the-less.

He needs his inhaler quite frequently, and sleeps often, and still has his nights & days confused, but they've been confused for years. He is still occassionally smoking, Alas, but IS on the patch most of the time, and that helps considerably. At least what smoking he does, is, he says, buy a pack, smoke one or two, throw the pack away.

That's how I cold-turkeyed 23 years ago, and just finally never got around to buying another pack.

He's been SO stubborn about quitting smoking for SO many years, but this time he does have more incentive (wellll, duh!), and he seems more positive and motivated about it.

Even one's too many, but considering he was a 2-3 pack a day smoker, then "just" one or two occassionally isn't too bad. As long as that one or two doesn't become 3 or 4, or half a pack, and on upwards.

He's put in a few hours at work, but again, in the evenings instead of daytime. He drives all over the place, walks through Walmart several times a week (as a customer/windowshopper, not as a "walker"), and was able to attend most of the Senior Sunday event for graduating seniors yesterday at church. (Our youngest daughter --and the last of the brood-- is graduating on Friday, and won the essay contest & small scholarship one of the church groups sponsored. We were all VERY proud, of course!)

So, there's progress, and the best news is that he's not still in the hospital! He'll have his checkup next week sometime.

Thanks again for your written and thought words of prayer and concern. Every prayer chain helped!

Susi.

I'll post about my flower sagas in another post!

Cliff also had a very difficult time quitting smoking. A week in the hospital without cigarettes or the patch was a great start --- but he was one anxious man! I would have thought that missing half of a lung would have been incentive enough!!

We found TicTacs worked well for him -- in fact, so well -- I thought I would invest in the company and make a fortune off of his purchases alone! At first, he went thru almost two containers a day -- now he uses 3 containers a week.

Our prayers are with you --- hang in there --- email if I can be of help.

Cathy

Ray

In my family, it's considered a successful graduation when we don't have to use one of the tickets for someone's parole officer. :)