He lost his leg....

My grandfather, a decorated Vietnam veteran, has had many health issues throughout his life after the war. As he got older, his health problems progressed, as did his smoking. I'm someone who supports smokers. What I mean by that is, I'm not someone who is against smokers and smoking. I know that smoking is a harmful habit; I've felt this way about smoking even before I started smoking mainly because, all of my family smokes. So, when someone says that people shouldn't be allowed to smoke in certain places, it irks me. Private businesses I understand. I live in North Carolina and they just passed a law that prohibits people from smoking in bars. It also prohibits smoking in any area where food is served. I'm not a bar junkie, I never will be. But I am still against this law. I think it should be up to the bar owners or restaurant owners whether there should be smoking in their store. I'm more for freedom, not socialism/communism.

That being said, my grandfather has smoked nearly his entire life. I've known him to have heart attacks, bypasses, and many other surgeries because of his smoking habit. A few years ago, his leg began to severely hurt him. When the doctors told him that if he didn't quit smoking, he was going to lose his leg, he set into motion a plan to quit smoking. Before his major health problems, my grandfather was in the pre-contemplation stage. Once he had his heart attack and bypass, he entered into the contemplation stage, aware of the problem but unwilling to do anything about it. Then, when he was told he would lose his leg, a fear of his since the war, he quickly and eagerly hopped into the preparation stage. He was given a good deal of advice on how to wane from the cigarette, from smoking less and less every day, to even rearranging his furniture in the house. This would have been the action stage. He actually maintained this and the only ways or times he relapsed was when he would beg someone for just one cigarette or look through the ash tray for unfinished cigarettes. Either way, he did well. Sadly, as time progressed, his leg never got better, it only got worse. A year or so after having initially quit smoking, he had to get his leg amputated. Therefore, my grandfather, a decorated Vietnam veteran, lost his leg to smoking, and regrets every living day he spent with a cigarette in his mouth. Now, when he talks to his children or his grandchildren who smoke, like me, he pleadingly tries to convince them to stop while it's not too late.