SEARHC - What's New - Michael Patterson's story keeps others from smoking

Michael Patterson's story keeps others from smoking

Michael Patterson went to the hospital seven months ago and all he felt was terror. He was going to die, and it was due to smoking.

Michael has end-stage COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and emphysema, which means if he's lucky he has five years left to live. On July 18, 2008, Michael was put on life-support after a four-hour fight to regain his breath. He had no strength left to breathe on his own.

A 53-year-old Douglas resident who is half-Tlingít and half-Cherokee/Irish/English, Michael did a lot of soul-searching as he lay dying. Smoking-related cancer killed his wife three years ago, and it also killed his father and now his younger sister is in Anchorage fighting for her life. Michael didn't want to leave his 17-year-old daughter alone.

After surviving his scare, Michael worked with SEARHC Tobacco Health Educator Rowena Reeves to quit smoking for the fourth time (he had relapsed a month before going to the hospital). He also began telling his story to school children and others to try and keep them from making the same mistakes.

"My desire to smoke is gone because of the terror of almost dying," Michael said. "I'm looking for ways to help people stop smoking. I've got to do what I can to stop as many people as I can."

A former computer tech, Michael also created an online support network, http://howwehavequitsmoking.ning.com, for people seeking help as they quit. (His profile is "Michael George Patterson," but a free registration is needed to see personal profiles.) The profile includes a link to a short video about his near-death experience.

"My thinking when I was younger was, 'Who cares to be an old man?'" he said. "Now when I speak to the kids in school, I tell them how I thought I was hurting nobody but myself. But I deceived myself, because I am hurting other people, especially my daughter."

Michael only has 32 percent of his lung function. Recently, he found out he is a prime candidate for lung-reduction surgery, where the worst parts of his lungs are removed so healthier parts can work better. Meanwhile Michael lives with the damage caused by smoking since age 9.

"I'm not on oxygen, but I could die today or tomorrow," he said. "If I get a cold or the flu, I'm fighting for my life."

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