In September 2019, I was working at the hard rock Hotel and Casino in Owasso, Oklahoma. I was in bed when I got a phone call from the contractor. He just wanted to inform me of something. I’m not even sure what it was about. All I remember was waking up out of a really deep sleep with my heart beating so quickly, I had to walk around the room debating on whether or not to call 911.
I didn’t call 911. My pounding chest stopped after about 30 minutes.
I never mentioned anything to my wife. I should have. I literally tell her everything!
It didn’t happen often, but my heart would race many more times. Even to this day, it still races, making me feel like I’m having a heart attack!
A little more than a year ago, I was sitting in a hotel room near Chicago, Illinois. I decided to go outside to my truck and smoke a cigarette. I started coughing uncontrollably. I also started spitting up a little blood. It was pretty bad the first night, and then it started to get less and less until eventually, it went away.
While I was in the same hotel room, I was having a coughing fit and lifted my right leg up to cough. I could literally hear one of my ribs break! To this day, the coughing fits have not stopped. I wake up several times at night coughing. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in months!
Since then, my rib has healed, but my body has completely changed! Some nights, I get extremely cold! Not when I’m under the covers or anything, but simply walking around will make me freeze. I’ll get so cold, my teeth start chattering until I find a blanket.
I’m currently sitting in a hotel in Laredo, Texas. I’m tired. I’m tired because I didn’t sleep much last night. I went to bed around 10:00 PM and woke up around 11:30 PM because I was coughing. I spit in the sink and, once again, I’m seeing blood.
This time, I told my wife. I told her I would like to make an appointment to go see a doctor. I don’t have health insurance, so this is a pretty big decision. It’s my own fault, so I’m not asking for sympathy. I don’t deserve sympathy. I’ve been smoking constantly for more than 35 years. I deserve whatever happens to me.
I’ve decided to write all this down, not because I think anyone is going to read it anytime soon, but quite the opposite. I don’t get much traffic here and my family doesn’t really read it anymore so I feel like it’s a safe place for me to write things down without questions.
I’ll write some more at a later time. I’ve been wanting to write for quite some time, and I think this might be the best way to get started.
In the meantime, take some advice from a 54-year young man. Stop smoking now while you still have a chance.
