She never smoked, and it took thirty years of her life

Denise, age 66, never smoked cigarettes. Her husband Brian smoked for most
of his life, and **had his first heart attack from smoking when he was 35 years
old.**

The next thirty-plus years of Brian's life contained **chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, heart bypass surgery, a heart transplant, lung cancer, and
part of his lung removed.** **Denise was by his side through every
appointment, scan, surgery and recovery.**

The part that does not appear in any statistic

She took responsibility for everything in their lives, from coordinating
Brian's medical care to running the household, and **eventually quit her job to
care for him full-time.**

Smoking's costs are usually counted in the smoker's illnesses and the smoker's
years. This is a career, a household and three decades of somebody who never
smoked — and the count has no column for it.

Being a caregiver could be "all-consuming," Denise said.

What she says to do about it

To avoid burning out, she learned to take care of herself — walks, the
gym. Her advice to other caregivers is specific and small enough to act on:

"Find at least an hour and do what you want, otherwise you'll go crazy."

Not a day. An hour.

And what she says about the thirty years

Caring for Brian through his illnesses brought the couple closer together.

"We were soulmates. We were meant to be together."

Brian died at age 68, after more than 30 years of smoking-related health
problems.

Free help to quit

1-800-QUIT-NOW · 1-855-DÉJELO-YA (Español) · 1-800-838-8917 (中文)
· 1-800-556-5564 (한국어) · 1-800-778-8440 (Tiếng Việt)

Text QUITNOW to 333888, or the quitSTART app. On the web: CDC's Quit
Smoking pages, Smokefree.gov, and the Asian Smokers' Quitline.

*Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tips From Former
Smokers®.*