Brandon C.: Buerger's Disease Took His Legs Before He Quit Smoking

Brandon C., from CDC's Tips From Former Smokers campaign. Photo: CDC.

Brandon, 31, started smoking in his mid-teens. By 18 he had been diagnosed with Buerger's disease, a disorder linked to tobacco use in which blood vessels in the hands and feet become blocked, which can lead to infection or gangrene. There is no cure, but quitting tobacco can stop the symptoms.

Nine years and two legs

"I was young. I didn't believe it. I was going to prove the doctors wrong. Ultimately, it took 9 years and the amputation of both my legs and several fingertips for me to quit smoking."

Brandon has been smokefree for 4 years and has had no more amputations, but living as a double amputee shapes every day:

"If I have to go to the bathroom in the night, I either have to put my legs on or crawl. I can only spend a limited amount of time on my prosthetic legs or I run the risk of getting sores — then I have to use a wheelchair."

Not just about him

"My cigarette smoking affected so many people — my parents, my wife, my daughter, and now my infant son. I can sit on the floor with him now when he's a baby, but when he gets older, I won't be able go out and run and play football with him. Smoking is never just about you."

He joined the Tips From Former Smokers campaign because he is disgusted by tobacco and wants people to quit:

"I took smoking too far. Quit today, not tomorrow. You just don't know the consequences of that next cigarette."

Brandon's print ad: "Allow extra time to put on your legs." CDC.

His videos

• Brandon's story: losing his foot, fingers and more to Buerger's disease, and the strength of addiction.
• "Buerger's Tips": Brandon and Marie on living with the effects of the disease.

More stories about Buerger's disease: Marie W. and Rebecca C..

Free help to quit

• Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669). In Spanish, 1-855-DÉJELO-YA (1-855-335-3569); in Chinese 1-800-838-8917, Korean 1-800-556-5564, Vietnamese 1-800-778-8440.
• Text QUITNOW to 333888 (message and data rates may apply), or try the quitSTART app.
• Online: CDC's quit-smoking pages (en español), Smokefree.gov and the Asian Smokers' Quitline.

Sources

Based on "Brandon C.'s Story," Tips From Former Smokers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain. Quotations are Brandon's, as published by CDC. A smokefree.gov promotional banner and a stock photograph are not reproduced.