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Welcome!The Making of NorthWest lung, Inc
BeginningsI began smoking when I was a youngster of about 10. My Dad approved since he had started just the same way. I was busted for smoking for the first time in the 5th grade. Later that year I was held back in school. I blamed my habit for my troubles and figured cigarettes were the reason for my problems. It wasn’t until after I went on to flunk the 7th grade, 3 times, that I finally quit school. I left four weeks into the 8th grade. I then came to the conclusion that smoking was only part of the reason for my bad school performance. At the time I figured that maybe I was just not smart. Even still, I had desires, hopes, and dreams. It was not until years later that I learned that I had minimal learning disabilities. This issue meant I learned differently than the way my teachers wanted me to learn. After quitting school at fifteen I approached the Air Force recruiters about joining up. Being generous they let me take the test, all the while thinking I would fail and hoping I would be discouraged enough to return to school. Well, a long story short - I passed. They told me to come back a few weeks before I turned seventeen and with my parent’s signatures I could take the physical. Once I passed the exam, I would be in. As I neared age seventeen my Dad became sick and bed ridden with lung cancer. This meant that the recruiter had to come to the house to collect the needed signatures. On my seventeenth birthday my Dad walked to the back door to see me off. Swelling up but not quite crying he shook my hand and said, “Be a man son.” That was the last time I saw him. One would think that seeing my Dad so sick would have inspired me to stop smoking but that certainly wasn’t the case. Eight weeks into my service, during the last week of my basic training, I was told to report to the Red Cross. They informed me that my Dad had passed away. They made arrangements for me to fly home since I didn’t have the money. I stood at attention in my uniform and saluted as they played Taps. My Father, like me, left home in his teens and served in the Marines in WWI and subsequently in WWII. I could hear the sobbing from all the people in attendance at his funeral. Still, I did not stop smoking. A Hard Habit to BreakOver the course of time I became a heavy smoker. Eventually I needed a fix every 15 min. I would wake up during the night and smoke. I tried to quite many times however each time I would last only six to eight hours before my willpower failed and I was smoking again. I had very little self discipline. In 1990, I had a desk job where I assisted clients in closing loans. The heaviest thing I picked up was a pencil. On one particular day a couple in their late 50’s came in to sign their loan papers. They sat down and waited while I finished getting the papers organized. Out of the blue, the woman asked, in a very sincere way, “Can I ask you a question?” “Sure,” I said. “Do you have emphysema,” she asked. My reply was “Heavens no, why do you ask?” “Well, your breathing sounds just like my uncle Bob just before he died.” Because the woman was so sincere, and didn’t seem condescending, I took note. In fact, it scared me. I didn’t let on to them, but after I finished with the closing I began to think about what she had said. I knew that I had some trouble breathing when I went up stairs or did something physical, but the fact that she could hear my breathing while I was sitting at the desk was a whole different idea. I recognized that I was heavy smoker and I knew I needed to quit but this woman’s comments put it in a new light. I now began thinking much more seriously about how to quit. I had tried many times and failed. I began to worry that maybe quitting wasn’t possible. I decided I would try using a problem solving technique I had learned of where you specifically define the problem and then lay out a direct plan to solve it. Well, the problem was that I was a drug addict and my drug of choice was tobacco, more specifically nicotine. So, I asked myself, what would they do with a “real” drug addict? My answer was that they would lock them up in a detox facility where they would let them crash, going through DT’s, the sweats, shakes, etc. Then after the drug was out of their system they would keep them for another 3 or 4 weeks, giving them positive encouragement and eventually let them go in hopes that they make it. Obviously some would make it and some would not. I thought if I could do that, I could make it but it would require me being physically kept away from them for a long enough period of time. I began looking for a stop smoking organization that would do just that. I called around and after they stopped laughing, they’d said that they did not do that kind of treatment. A few days later I had a loan to close for a man who owned his own back country guide business. He worked out of La Grande, Oregon and took people on horseback up into the mountains to fish, hunt and camp. He supplied food, horses, and gear. I asked him what he would charge me to take me deep into the mountains, so far that I would be afraid to try to come out alone. My request was for him to leave me there for three weeks and then return to get me. He said he would do it for $1200.00. I thought that was a good price. However, after I gave it some thought for a few days, I began to think about the bears and cougars in the woods. I decided against the trip. Then it dawned on me that I could create my own lock-up. I asked a co-worker if he would pad-lock me in my own home so that I could not get out. He said that he would. Both the general manager of the company and the owner over heard me talking about my idea and gave me the time off. I think they wanted to call my bluff. We set the date for my lock up for three weeks down the road. Then I began to get people coming to my desk saying, “I heard…”,and “Are you really…”,etc. Well, by now, if I didn’t go through with it I would be a laughing stock, which I did not want. I discovered that these questions served as additional motivation. So, I purchased an exercise bike, lots of fresh veggie’s and fruit. I also picked up two books on quitting smoking. Ironically one was by Patrick Reynolds, the grandson of R.J. Then I purchased a cassette series on goal setting, thinking it would help me to set a goal to quit smoking. I asked my nephew to come stay with me so I had someone inside with a key in case of fire. With that I was set. I smoked my last cigarette on the back steps of my office around 9:00 pm on Friday night. On Saturday, I worked all day. I went home at nine o’clock p.m. and the doors were locked. I slept all night Saturday and spent Sunday riding the bike, taking naps, reading and listening to the tapes. Monday came and I was wondering when I would be over in the corner shaking and profuse sweating. I had heard on TV how breaking the cigarette habit was harder that getting off hard drugs. I had also been told by many people just how hard it was, so I was expecting the worst. When Tuesday came I figured it would continue but instead I felt fine with no craving feelings. Nothing! I was reading my books and working on the twelve set cassette series. I learned that setting a goal to quit was not the best approach. Rather, I learned to establish a life goal instead. In fact, I established two goals. The first was to help people to quit smoking. The second was to help people with minimal learning disabilities. You see, I decided it was important to help others to quit because I had found that it was a lot easer than I had been told. I wanted to share my new knowledge and I knew that I could help others. I also had discovered the reason I had such a hard time in school. I had been diagnosed with minimal learning disabilities. I was smart but didn’t learn in the traditional way therefore I had to learn a new way of learning, one that worked for me. Wednesday morning came and everything was great. At that time I had a maid service that came in on Wednesdays. I had made arrangement for them to have a key to get in. I also told them that if they saw the “green reaper” when they unlocked the padlock that they should just close the door and go away. Fortunately this wasn’t the case and they came in to complete their tasks. Just before they came I began to think. “Quitting was so easy. My car is outside and when the maid service comes I’ll just jump in the car and run down to the store and get a pack. I’ll smoke it and then quit again. Just to prove how easy it was to quit.” I procrastinated while they were cleaning believing they would not re-lock the door when they were finished. After they left, I suddenly noticed that I had the “craving” feelings again. I mean I really wanted one. Lucky for me they locked the door upon their departure. When my nephew came home, we talked about the day. Not sure why the craving feelings, which had completely disappeared the day before, were back. The next day, the cravings were gone again. I came to the conclusion that my thoughts and planning about wanting a smoke had caused the urges to come back. Now I really understood the adage, “it is only mental.” The bottom line is that I QUIT!!!
My plan worked. When I tell the story, some will say,
“Wow, that was extreme.” My answer is, “What does it
matter if it worked.” Quitting Leads to a New BeginningI tell my story when I talk to smokers who want to quit and then I give them what I call, “the lemon exercise,” as an example of how the mind is the strongest tool. The lemon exercise is a visualization technique that starts by envision going home, wanting something to eat, going to the kitchen, getting a knife and cutting board out, going to the refrigerator, opening it and taking out a lemon. Then they take it to the counter, cut it, see the juice squirt out, then take a bite. If they do it correctly, their mouth will pucker and water. Then I say, “All this and you never touched a lemon.” After my detox lock up experience I wanted to help others to stop smoking. I decided that I would purchase a small business which in turn would offer me the freedom I needed to go out and share my knowledge and experience about quitting smoking. When I reviewed business opportunities I found that what I had experience with and could afford pointed me toward the convenience store industry. In 1990 I purchased my first store and soon after worked to find places to speak of my experience. While the business thrived no one was interested in hearing of my stop smoking experience. However during the day I would often have customers in the store that would make the statement, “I need to quit.” This was all I needed to share my story. As time went on, I began having some of them come by and thank me for my encouragement and would relate that our conversation was very helpful in their being able to stop smoking. This reaction proved to be an unexpected yet beneficial result. I now reason that if I put myself in constant contact with smokers, I will be afforded the opportunity to speak to them from the heart on an equal level. When I do, they listen and take what I say to heart. By 1995 I had purchased a second
store. Unfortunately in 1996 I received the diagnosis
of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases or C.O.P.D.
My doctor put me on oxygen and I went on disability. At
that time I sold one of my stores. However, I spent
time around the remaining store which allowed me to
continue speaking to smokers with a new found level of
intensity. I was often asked about my oxygen use which
would open up a further discussion. My RebirthWhen I was told that I needed a double lung transplant I had to sell the last store. In 2002 I moved into a rented apartment in Seattle, Washington. On March 16, 2003 I underwent surgery for a double lung transplant. After my surgery I immediately realized the gift I had been given. I liken it to being given new breath, truly the gift of life. I realized then that God had put me through all this for a reason and that my purpose was to give back to others. I also knew that I had a new life goal, which was to provide support to pre/post lung transplant patients. After being released I spent 90 days recovering in my apartment and then was allowed to return home, 225 miles away. This is when I began making plans about how I would go about helping my fellow transplant patients. At the time a friend owned a small gift and smoke shop which he was selling. I purchased the shop because I knew that I would have the opportunity to help smokers stop. I also thought who better to provide funds for transplant patients than smokers. After some consideration I decided
the way I could help fellow patients was with relocation
expenses. It was both needed and something I could
tackle. I realized that there have been many patients
who simply could not afford to relocate with out help
and therefore have had to forgo a life saving transplant
because they could not pay the rent. My Dream Becomes RealitySo, rather than taking a salary from the store I used the funds to establish NorthWest Lung, Inc., (NWL). NWL a non-profit created to provide low cost, temporary housing near the University of Washington Medical (U.W.M.C.) for patients in the pre and post lung transplant process. U.W.M.C. is the only licensed facility allowed to perform lung transplants within the five northwest states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. Given this vast coverage area transplant patients living outside the Seattle metroplex are required to relocate near the center as a pre-condition of being placed on the transplant list. I have now been working on this project for the past five years. I am not a smooth talking kind of guy and all I know is being a merchant and salesman. I have found that the task of growing my non-profit has been much more challenging than I had anticipated. In the beginning I thought I could get small corporate donations for numerous companies creating a large amount of revenue. Unfortunately, this was a great plan that became a very good first lesson in the non-profit world. In the end, I was not able to get a single company to sign on to my project. Next I began to try my hand at making applications to grant making organizations. I discovered that their rules so confused me that eventually I gave up. Even still, I have been able to establish (1) one bedroom apartment in the Seattle area using the profits from the store I currently own. We rent an apartment and then sublet it to the patient for a very small amount, ranging from free up to $400. I am also hopeful that current store profits will continue to grow allowing me to establish a second apartment in early 2009. To do this, I have established alternative revenue sources outside of cigarette sales, which to my delight have gone down by 50% over the last five years. However, I recognize that the need for patient housing far exceeds these two units. On my journey I have discovered much skepticism about the project, which I had not expected. When I really consider it, I now see why as there have been many “scrams” from untruthful people wanting to make a buck for themselves. However, I sincerely hope that there are compassionate individuals out there who are touched by my mission. For those who would like solid proof of our existence and good standing I am happy to provide it. For those with additional questions please feel free to contact me directly. I am happy to share any information you desire and my organization is an open book. If you like, I’ll even show you my scar!! It goes from one arm pit, across my chest, to the other arm pit. Please note that we are not a medical facility, nor an advisor in any capacity. Our mission is solely to provide temporary housing for qualifying lung transplant patient. I do, however, share my personal experiences with anyone who will listen. Many have told me that what I have shared has been helpful to them. So ends my story to date. As with any story there are lots of asides that can still be shared! If you would like to hear more or are interested in supporting our cause feel free to call or stop by my store located in Kennewick, Washington. Sincerely, John Lee |
| © NorthWest Lung 2009 | |
