I smoked without thinking
I'm Dani, age 65, an engineer by profession, retired today. I started smoking in the army — like everyone, I thought. A cigarette was part of the day: with my morning coffee, after eating, when I met with friends, when I worked at the drafting table.
Forty years passed and I didn't think about it even for a moment. The morning cough was "a smoker's cough." Shortness of breath on the stairs was "my age." When I had to go up three flights and had to stop in the middle — "it's because I ate a lot, it'll pass soon."
The family talked to me. My wife Shulamit pleaded. The kids asked me every Friday dinner: "Dad, when?" And I always answered: "Tomorrow." That tomorrow only came when it was already very late.
The diagnosis that changed everything
Eight years ago, at age 57, I went to my family doctor with pneumonia. Two weeks passed and I still couldn't recover. The doctor referred me for a pulmonary function test — spirometry.
When the pulmonologist explained the results to me, she looked me in the eyes and said a phrase I remember for life: "Dani, you have moderate COPD. Your lungs are working at 58% of their capacity. This is a chronic disease. It won't go away."
I sat in my car in the hospital parking lot for half an hour and cried. I cried for those years. I cried because I didn't listen. I cried for the breath I lost. Then I called Shulamit and said: "I'm quitting today." And I did.
"I sat in my car in the hospital parking lot for half an hour and cried. Then I called Shulamit and said: I'm quitting today. And I quit."
Quitting smoking was not enough
I mistakenly thought that if I just stopped smoking, my lungs would return. They didn't. The damage done in 40 years doesn't disappear in a month.
But quitting smoking stopped the decline. Over eight years — stability was preserved. Without cigarettes, infections became much less frequent. My lungs are still sick, but they're not getting worse.
I started on constant treatment with an inhaler. I learned how to use it correctly — that took time. At first I just "inhaled" quickly and missed half. The lung nurse patiently explained — slow breath in, hold for 10 seconds, repeat. Now it's like that every morning and every evening, like brushing teeth.
I started living again
The biggest step I took was pulmonary rehabilitation. Three times a week, for three months, I went to a rehabilitation center at the hospital. Stationary bike, treadmill, breathing exercises. The physiotherapist taught me to breathe from my belly, not my chest.
At first I couldn't do 10 minutes. By the end of the course I could walk 30 minutes at a good pace. Today I walk with Shulamit 3-4 times a week, half an hour each time, on the beach in Bat Yam. That's our best time together.
I still have COPD. I still take my inhalers. I still get my flu shot every fall. But life has become life again. And not just that — it's become more pleasant. Every breath I notice now, and nothing is taken for granted.
My message
To anyone who smokes and doesn't want to think about it — you don't need to get a COPD diagnosis to quit. Quit before it happens. Your lungs will forgive you.
And to anyone already diagnosed — don't be afraid. Life after diagnosis can be good if you fight for it. Quitting smoking, right inhalers, rehabilitation, exercise, healthy eating, vaccines — all of this gives you years of good life.
And don't be alone. The Linshom community is full of people like me who go through the same thing. A conversation with someone who went through it before you is worth hours of doctor appointments.
"Forty years passed and I didn't listen to myself. Today I breathe — and it's the most precious thing I have."
— Dani Cohen
