What would it take for you to quit smoking?
For one man, it was the moment he couldn’t breathe, looked into his wife’s tearful eyes, and realised he might never see his child again.
This heart-wrenching incident was shared by a Malaysian doctor in a Facebook post, where she recounted the emergency that unfolded one morning at her clinic.
She was preparing for the day’s clinic session when a nurse suddenly rushed in.
Doctor, emergency case, young man, severe shortness of breath. His wife pushed him in on a wheelchair. He can’t speak.”
Without hesitation, the doctor made her way to the waiting area. There sat a man in his 30s, pale as paper, soaked in sweat, and struggling to breathe. His dusty work clothes hinted that he had come straight from a job site. Beside him, a young woman clutched his hand tightly, crying uncontrollably.
Doctor… please help him. He’s never been like this before. Please, save him.”
His lung had collapsed, and time was running out
As the doctor examined him, she quickly realised something was seriously wrong. The left side of his chest was silent, no breath sounds. His heart was racing, and his complexion was dangerously pale.
Sir, I suspect your left lung has collapsed. We call it a pneumothorax. We need to insert a chest tube right away to release the trapped air,” she told him.
The man nodded weakly and gasped out his plea:
I want to live, doctor, I have a young child. I want to quit smoking. I swear.”
A quick X-ray confirmed her suspicion. It was tension pneumothorax, a life-threatening condition where air builds up in the chest cavity and compresses the heart and lungs.
If they had waited any longer, the outcome could have been fatal.
The doctor and her team jumped into action. After administering pain relief, she performed the emergency procedure.
As the chest tube was inserted, a soft “ssshhhh” sound signalled the release of trapped air. His breathing began to stabilise, his skin returned to a healthy tone, and his eyes slowly opened.
His wife immediately collapsed in relief, crying and bowing in gratitude.
Thank you, doctor. I thought I was going to lose him today.”
“God gave me a second chance. I won’t waste it”
Three days later, the doctor visited the patient in the ward. This time, he was alert, calm, and much healthier. On the table beside him was a pack of cigarettes, crushed and discarded.
Doctor, I want to apologise. I ruined my own lungs. I started smoking at 15 but I’ve stopped. I repent. God gave me a second chance. I won’t waste it.”
The doctor replied:
“It’s not too late. Your lungs asked for help, and you listened. That’s already something.”
She later admitted in her post that she cried silently in the hospital prayer room, not from exhaustion, but because she was grateful to have witnessed a moment of repentance and a family being pulled back from the edge.
A wake-up call for smokers
This real-life encounter is more than just a medical emergency. It’s a wake-up call.
Pneumothorax, as seen in this man’s case, can strike suddenly even in seemingly healthy individuals. And when it does, the consequences can be devastating if not treated immediately.
Yet, there is still hope. This man’s near-death experience became the turning point he needed to turn his life around, not just for himself, but for the people he loves.
To those who are still struggling to quit, the doctor had one final message:
“Don’t wait for your lungs to give out. Don’t wait until your family is begging a stranger to save you.Today is not too late. Quit, for your life and for the ones who love you.”
