No cigarettes - Advice from late writer Balakumaran

Two years after quitting smoking, my heart was severely affected. I had a blockage. I had a bypass surgery in 2000.

If I had been a smoker then, my death would have been certain. I was able to cope with the operation by quitting smoking and improving my health.

Then, for ten years, my life flowed beautifully without any problems.

In 2011, due to blood clots due to diabetes, I had a second bypass.

Because I had practiced breathing exercises, had knowledge about breathing, walked briskly every morning and evening, and did gentle exercises, I was able to overcome the second bypass.

But in 2012, the next test. The cigarettes I smoked at the age of nineteen showed their toxicity at the age of sixty-six. They proved their perversity.

The entire base of the lungs was covered in mucus caused by nicotine. The lungs were not working at full capacity.  The ability to do so was gradually lost. Along with this, mucus congestion took its toll. Breathing difficulties occurred.

A situation where a handful of food was in danger. A situation where I thought I would only survive if I covered my entire face and administered oxygen. A situation where I could only sleep at night with that thing called NIV. They put a device called bronchoscopy into the trachea and tested it and found that there was thick mucus in the lower lungs that was so thick that it was impossible to move.

How to fix this?

You can tolerate the pain. If there is any other problem, you can do the same. How can you cope when it is difficult to breathe and get oxygen in and out? It has become a daily struggle for life.

Balakumaran was breathing rapidly and thought that he would die in a few minutes.

The house was in trouble. Oxygen cylinders had to be kept in the house for three to four days. The device that could inject air quickly was the only one.

As soon as I got home from the hospital, the house turned into a hospital. It was a shame to always have oxygen in my nose.

For someone who used to travel all over Mylapore on a scooter, I had to stay in the same room at home like a prison sentence. There was no great pain, no fever. But if I took the oxygen tube away, I would start suffocating.

Without it, I couldn't walk, couldn't talk, couldn't eat, couldn't do anything. It was a terrible punishment like having my legs chained and an iron bar in my hand. I sat quietly with no other choice.

I laughed at the thought of having to smoke a hundred and twenty cigarettes a day. I was saddened by the foolish belief that smoking like that would help me write stories.

Death comes to everyone. It comes at any time. It comes in any form. But no one should ever have to go through a situation where they are suffocating and fearing, "This is it. This is it."

My chest hurt. He pounded for five minutes. It didn't matter that he was dead.

No one should experience the agony of being unable to breathe, unable to expel the breath that has gone in, unable to draw in the air that is outside, and screaming. Those who have the desire to smoke a cigarette, please destroy that thought.

- Writer Balakumaran

No cigarettes

This is the secret of a healthy life