"I quit smoking to be healthy for my two boys. What better motivation is there than that?”

I served four years with the Army Reserve at the 452nd Combat Support Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was with their headquarters unit until I was medically discharged after four years. I wish I could have continued serving, but life had other plans for me. My biggest regret is that I smoked while I was in the military. I didn’t start that in the military; I started smoking when I was 12. My mom smoked when she was pregnant with me and throughout my childhood. She actually quit smoking in 2008. She was part of my inspiration to quit.

The things that bring me the most joy are my boys. I want to make sure I’m here to be with them, to watch them grow up. To see them as they marry the partners of their dreams and start having families.

They’re my biggest reason for wanting to still be here and to take better care of myself, which is actually why I spoke to Whole Health...not just about quitting smoking, but also other health conditions.

With them, I’ve conquered some of my fears. I’ve had better conversations with my husband. I’ve worked with the MOVE! Program to help lose weight. They’ve helped me in so many different ways to continue being here to fight for my kids.

The boys are four and two, Zander and William. We wouldn’t have found out about some of my other medical conditions if it weren’t for giving birth. I I have used Whole Health to be the healthiest version of me that I can be, and I have two beautiful boys to live for. What better purpose can I ask for than that?

My first semi-successful attempt at quitting smoking was right after I had given birth to Zander. I was not only working with VA’s quit smoking group but also the First Breath program at Dean. I was able to quit for a couple months until I was in a car accident. I wasn’t quite ready for something majorly stressful to happen so I ended up falling back into smoking.

After giving birth to William and having some medical conditions at that time, I realized I needed to start taking better care of myself and the first step to doing that was getting serious about quitting smoking.

I got back in contact with the First Breath program at Dean, and the quit smoking group at VA. I got back on medicine to help quit smoking. For me, going back to the VA tobacco support group has been the biggest thing to staying tobacco-free. Seeing the group members every single week, whether it’s in-person or by video, helps me stay truthful, not just to myself but to them. It helps keep the integrity that I learned in basic training and AIT to keep being the best me I can be without smoking. Hearing the stories and the benefits that others experience – I want those benefits too. And it is a wonderful program.

Just take the leap of faith to join us for just one class and you will feel all the love and support that anybody could ask for. Whether you have it at home or not, you’ll get it here with all our brothers and sisters at arms that are working towards the same goal. You get inspired by hearing their stories and even get great advice that you may not have thought of. Had it not been for someone recommending separating the lighter from the tobacco, I never would have thought of something like that. There’s so much good advice that I’ve received from this group.

After starting the tobacco support group in January, I was able to quit by February. It was still a little bit of a struggle at the beginning, even with the medication to help quit, but I was able to get through it. Now I haven’t had the desire to pick up a cigarette and I’m trying to convince my husband to quit smoking.

Honestly, there’s been so many more benefits with quitting, not just for me, but for my family. We’ve been able to go on family vacations and not worry about the struggle of bills after coming home. Right after I quit smoking, we went to Florida, and this past summer we got to go to Oklahoma. It makes it all worth it.

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The Madison VA Tobacco Treatment Clinic offers medication and counseling options, individual video and phone calls and a group clinic. Call 608-280-7084 or send a My HealtheVet secure message to the “Tobacco Treatment” team.

For more information about the Madison VA Hospital, visit www.madison.va.gov, www.facebook.com/MadisonVAHospital and subscribe to our newsletters.