“Quit Smoking!” — A Buerger’s Disease patient’s appeal to the public

A resident of Lower Pinget barangay bravely shared his experience with Buerger’s Disease hoping others would learn from his sad experience due to the damage caused by long-term smoking.

Buerger’s Disease is an illness linked to prolonged tobacco use which causes the blood vessels in the arms or legs to tighten, blocking normal blood flow. When blood is prevented from reaching the fingers or toes, they become painful, cold, or numb and the skin may darken, and tissue could die with severe cases requiring amputation.

To prevent the condition from worsening, it is crucial to quit the deadly habit of smoking.

For the Pinget resident, the disease eventually led to the amputation of his foot after years of nicotine exposure that gradually blocked the blood vessels in his lower limbs.

For nearly two years, he stayed home and tried to endure the pain and even stopped working because he could no longer move properly or stand for long periods of time.

He sometimes drank alcohol to cope with the pain and used it as a remedy and when wounds appeared, he cleaned them himself.

The patient’s symptoms began around 2004 or 2005 where he first felt numbness and sharp pain in his big toe which later darkened and became cold. Thinking it was only a nail problem, he had the toenail removed but the discoloration continued to spread.

Meanwhile, the pain grew so severe that he struggled to walk even a minimum of ten steps.

He first tried smoking in his second year of high school and due to curiosity and peer pressure, he later became a regular smoker.

At home, his father had also smoked in the past, which made the habit feel ordinary so when he began working in construction, he smoked even more, often finishing one pack of cigarettes a day.

Sometime in 2007 or 2008, he finally went to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center where doctors told him the tissue in his foot had already died and that the infection had spread and that amputation was the only option left.

Losing his left foot changed the patient’s life since he could no longer work in construction and his wife became the sole breadwinner while he took over household responsibilities and looked after their four children.

He said that not being able to provide for his family was the most difficult part but stressed that he had to remain strong for their sake.

Although he still feels pain, he has learned to live with it and does not visit the doctor often because he knows the disease has no cure.

The patient knows that if the pain worsens or an infection occurs, another amputation on either of his arms or legs may be needed.

Despite the hardships, he now speaks publicly through the Smoke-Free Task Force to warn others about the dangers of smoking.

His message is clear: “Kung kaya niyong tumigil, tumigil na. Sana hindi ko na inumpisahan para hindi ako naging ganito.” – Mariam Qatarina R. Santos, PIO Intern / Gaby Keith