Topic : 01/22 Cojo: Back from the Brink

You got the two stories mixed up.....the organ donor was not the smoker who refused Dr. Phil's help.

I hope that the guy that smokes 3-4 packs of cigarettes a day takes Dr Phil's offer.  I lost my husband of 17 yrs back in 93.  He too smoked that many cigarettes plus was a firefighter for 20 yrs.  I know neither helped him but 10 yrs before he was diagnosed with lung cancer, I begged him to quit SMOKING--he quit for a week then complained he couldn't sleep.  I told him don't be surprised when you're diagnosed.  He told me not to say that.  Well, 10 yrs later he was.  The  cancer metasticized to his bones before he was

diagnosed.  He lived 3 1/2 yrs after but in a lot of pain.  He suffered greatly.  He prayed for a healing.

And I lived ever day of that 3 1/2 yrs praying too.  Praying the end would be bearable for him.  Please don't let your children and your wife watch you die.  I know first hand the agony of that.   I wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy.  Smoking just doesn't affect YOUR LIFE it effects everyone who loves you--a mother should never have to bury her son.  Your chldren shouldn't have to bury their father because he was too stupid to accept help.  

 

As far as Cojo, I've watched you on ET for a long time now and I'm glad you are well and happy.  I have been an organ donor for years.  They can have every part that's usuable.  Your mother is a saint, but any mother would do that for her child.  Too bad that smoker can't have his mother's BRAIN~~~

 hi Dr Phil
i am a transplant recipient Jan 7 1992
i have coached hockey last year and years before that
have coached baseball
have water skied
this is not to slow you down,but make better chooses
i am the father of two
one junior in collage son ,senior in high school daughter
i am in there lives
i have a wife that looks after me too sandy  and a full time job driving a forklift
i do not mind taking the pills easier than dialysis
Roy Kreuser

I feel extremely inspired by the story on today's show. Cojo has and will continue to be a huge inspiration to many people battling severe health conditions. I applaud him for his courage and strength. He turned an unfortunate event in his life into something positive for others. Congratulations to him and I wish him much success in all that he does.

 

Now, about the man who had a heart attack and still smokes and continues to neglect his body.... I was married at the age of 17 to the man that I planned on spending the rest of my life with. I was aware of his health problems when we met and I embraced him and loved him unconditionally. When I became pregnant with my first child at the age of 18 I was very scared. I knew that combined with my health problems and his, my child had a great chance of being sick at birth. I did everything that I could during my pregnancy to ensure that I was doing nothing to harm my child. When she was born, she was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy ( the enlargement of her ventricle), and it was able to be corrected with medication. We got very lucky with her. She is now 5 and very happy and healthy. However, when my husband was 18 (1 year before we met) He had open heart surgery to correct his heart condition, aortic stenosis. I knew that the surgery had taken place and I knew the risk I was taking to be with him. I vowed to do everything I could for him and make sure he was taken care of when it came to his medical treatment.

 

When my daughter was four months old, I received a call from my husband's work informing me that he had been found unresponsive at his desk.

I rushed to the hospital with my infant daughter only to be told that he had passed.

 

Just 3 weeks prior to his death he had been checked out by a cardiologist who said he heard a little bit of a backflow, but he thought that was normal due to the procedure he had done (Ross procedure). He agreed to schedule an echocardiogram and two days shy of having the test done is when he passed.

 

My world was turned upside down. It happened exactly 5 years ago yesterday. So, it hit me really hard when I saw this man on television who has the opportunity to see his children grow and see his grandchildren, but he refuses to do anything to be able to do so. What is the big deal, so he has to quit smoking......does he really have so little meaning in life that he couldn't do that one small task?

 

My deceased husband would give his right arm to be able to be here, I know it. I would give up everything I own (aside from my children!) to have been able to save him. 

When the wife was asked if she would quit smoking and she hesitated, my jaw dropped!!! I know how guilty I feel to this day about what happened to my husband, and I know that I did everything right, but there is always that "what -if". What if I had questioned the dr more. What if I had pushed to have the test done sooner. What if I had recognized the symptoms he was having.. then maybe I could have done something to save him.

 

Do these people not realize that death is permanent? There is no, second chance to do it over!!! I really wish that I could share my story with this couple and maybe if they heard my story it might make things more real to them.

 

I know that I am not a miracle worker, I know that you can't help someone that won't help themselves, but I also do know that sometimes it takes something so big to happen to make people realize how easy life can slip away.

Here is this man, who God is allowing a chance to live, there is a reason he is here. He didn't die with his heart attack because he has unfinished business here. I wish he could wake up and see that. He won't be here forever. And his wife... Will never forgive herself if something happens to him. She may think right now that he makes his own decisions and she can't make him do anything, but she does have a huge impact on the way he lives.

 

What kind of example is this showing the children involved? What habits are these children picking up from these two? Would he feel different if it was his child that wouldn't take treatment for cancer, and without it the child would die.. would he feel different?

 

I really hope that this family wakes up and realizes how precious life is and what all they have to be greatful for before its too late.

I HAPPILY smoked 11 or more packs a week. I was a chain smoker who LOVED my cigarettes.

 

I quit in one day. It was EASIER than losing weight.

 

I wanted a baby. I wanted a healthy baby. And once I had a baby I wanted to be a good role model for her. You cannot tell a child not to smoke when a cigarette is hanging from your mouth!

 

I got a cold and sore throat one day and decided to use that as an opportunity to quit BEFORE conceiving. For one full year I had to keep a pack of my cigarettes under my car seat "just in case." They were there for emergencies. However, there were none and I have not had a cigarette since then (even though I still crave them whenever I smell them on someone!).

 

ANYONE can quit (if I can). It's been 14 years since I smoked. I am the mother of TWO healthy children who think cigarettes are smelly, dangerous and stupid. And they know my history with them.

 

If you don't love yourself enough to quit, DO IT FOR YOUR KIDS. Set a good, healthy example! Nothing REALLY good in life is easy. Life isn't supposed to be easy. But we're supposed to be good role models for our children.

 

 

PLEASE listen to those who know, Diabetes/Kidney Disease kills! My dear Uncle Frankie died last year after being on a transplant list for FOUR years! My mother, his own sister, was a perfect match and refused to do it because she thought he wouldn't eat right. He had no kidneys and suffered terribly for years. He had life-long diabetes and had learned to take care of himself, yet it still happened to him.

Please take your pills and knock off the long hours and bad diet. Exercise please. Listen to the docs and the other people who're going through these things. Kidneys don't appear in your life like magic! There are so few donors out there!!!!

To the sister I would say, if you hold the keys to life for a loved one would you really be able to live with yourself if you turned them down and they died? I wonder. I'm not sure how my own mother lives with herself day to day, and I'll never know because after what she did, and since we lost my sweet uncle last year, I've decided to never speak to her again.

...................then you would quit.  you are offensive to everyone around you.  Your hair, clothing, car, furnitire, carpet, bed linens, mattress, pillow................ALL STINK.  You are disgusting to be around. JUST QUIT. I know Dr. Phil could smell Paul there on the stage.  I felt sorry for the producers who had to speak with Paul  and felt sorry for the people seated near the wife in the audience. 

After watching the show today, I was rather furious about the guest not realizing what a gift a kidney is to receive.  I waited for nearly a year to receive one and realize that I was lucky in only waiting that long.  It is not always as easy as she may think to replace the one she has. I thank the donor's family each day that I am where I am today.  Granted it involves taking lots of medication, but the alternatives are far worse.  On the other sideof the story, my husband was a smoker for many, many years.  He knew of all the dangers and watched his own uncle die from lung cancer.  Despite all these warnings, he could not give up the habit. Unfortuneately he passed away in 2004 and left me a widow at the age of 44.  I can understand the difficulty in giving up this addiction, but trust me, leaving your family without a father is something that should be taken very seriously.  Please don't think "it won't happen to me".  I can tell you from experience, it can and it probably will.   Sincerely,  Sharon    

"I was so disturbed to see the donor heart recipient choosing to smoke--& laughing about his right to do so and "enjoy" whatever time he has left."

 

I completely understand what you are saying... But he didnt have a donor heart. He had two stints placed in his arteries in his heart to "fix" the clogged arteries.

 

I was completely inraged with this man... find my message and you will understand why.

I'm always so happy when there are shows about transplantation - especially with kidneys. I am a transplant recipient of almost 5 years - June 24, 2003 - and received the kidney from my mom. I would just like to tell my story of how I got there to give some of the people out there who are still waiting for an organ some hope.
I was 15 years old when I found out that my kidneys had failed. I went into the doctors for a check-up at the end of my 8th grade year and my mom mentioned to him that I was looking pale and that I was always tired/sleeping alot. The doctor took some blood and told me that my red blood cell count was a 6 when it should have been a 12 or 13. (Had I been an adult with that low a blood count, I would have been too weak to get out of bed) He referred us to the Children's Hospital in D.C. to do some tests. My mom and I went to D.C. every week to have blood work done and for a check-up. During this time, the doctors performed two bone marrow aspirations and a bone marrow biopsy, to rule out cancer. After three months of not having a diagnosis, my parents decided to take me to a doctor closer to our home. He took some blood and called us the next day to tell us that I had to go straight to the hospital. All I remember is my dad waking me up and telling me to get dressed because we had to go to the hospital. I was still half asleep, so I was both confused and terrified. At the hospital, they told me that my kidneys had failed. I was at 10% function. Although we never got a definitive diagnosis of why this happened, most of the doctors believed that it was genetic (it has a name but it is really long and hard to pronounce) and that basically, the kidneys start to lose function and die in the second decade of life.
After we had a diagnosis, I felt, unlike with most transplant stories, a huge relief. I finally knew what was wrong with me. I was placed on peritoneal dialysis and had the surgery to insert the tube done the first week of my freshman year in high school. After it healed, I went down to the Children's Hospital in D.C. for diaylsis training. In case anyone doesn't know what peritoneal dialysis is - it's when you have a catheter placed in you and every night, you hook up to a machine that pours a saline solution in you, lets it sit, and then drains it out. It is painful, though not as bad as hemodialysis, I have heard. The diet is less restrictive, but it is an every night thing - which was extremely hard on a 15 year old girl. Anyway, 10 grueling months later, my mom was finished being tested and I was ready to have my transplant. It was an awesome feeling to know that I was better and didn't have to have dialysis anymore.
Almost five years out and I am doing well. I have never had a problem with rejection and although there are some things I can't do because of the transplant (like self defense or kickball), I am so happy to have had it. And despite what people say about how annoying it is to take pills everyday, it is a small price to pay. I remember saying to my mom once, before we had a diagnosis, that I wouldn't care if I had to take a pill everyday for the rest of my life, just as long as I could know what was wrong and how to fix it.

I just want to say to everyone who reads this and is still waiting for an organ: don't lose hope because you'll get one someday and the day you do, it will be the best day of your life. I've had a difficult struggle, but I made it through. And if I can do it, then so can you.