Good news, County School Board wants me to be a speaker. Update 4/14

It's great that you are able to use your experience to help others. It's important to instill the knowledge about the risks of smoking in younger kids before they start. I'm sure you will have an impact.

wmc said:

Thank you.....

This will be my first step in what I want to do to repay for my second chance. I have always enjoyed educating or training people. I turned down a teaching job when I was 21. I would have been teaching business class at my high school. Even went as far as having the meetings with the princable of the school. I had no college degree at that time I was offered. I have some regreats, but I have always been the one who trained all my co-workers, so I have always keep a hand in training.

This will be my chance to really make a differance in peoples lives. I really Feel I can put in differant words the kids will not only see what it has done to me, but in words they will understand are real. I have lost the ability to smell because of my surgery. You can close your eyes and remember a blue sky with clouds, that's easy. You can hear in your mind, a train whistle. But you can not remember how a peach smells, or your wife favorite perfume. Smell is the hardest sence to recall. This is my chance to make a differance in life.

Then next is the school for nursing to help them learn how to care for a laryngectomee. They never really see one and If they get to see me and I can answer there questions I can help them as well. I do the one at Stanford when they recertify SLP for working on laryngectomee's. That is why they want me to do the YouTubes, because I have showed them if you try hard you can whistle. I was told they had never seen a laryngectomee that could whistle even with a prosthesis. But I can.

Bill

There is no more powerful way to convey a message like cancer than what you are doing. As you say, hopefully it gets some thinking about the hazards, and maybe it will stick with one or two.  Glad to hear you arre fit enough to get out the do the talks. Thanks! don

wmc said:

Thank you.....

This will be my first step in what I want to do to repay for my second chance. I have always enjoyed educating or training people. I turned down a teaching job when I was 21. I would have been teaching business class at my high school. Even went as far as having the meetings with the princable of the school. I had no college degree at that time I was offered. I have some regreats, but I have always been the one who trained all my co-workers, so I have always keep a hand in training.

This will be my chance to really make a differance in peoples lives. I really Feel I can put in differant words the kids will not only see what it has done to me, but in words they will understand are real. I have lost the ability to smell because of my surgery. You can close your eyes and remember a blue sky with clouds, that's easy. You can hear in your mind, a train whistle. But you can not remember how a peach smells, or your wife favorite perfume. Smell is the hardest sence to recall. This is my chance to make a differance in life.

Then next is the school for nursing to help them learn how to care for a laryngectomee. They never really see one and If they get to see me and I can answer there questions I can help them as well. I do the one at Stanford when they recertify SLP for working on laryngectomee's. That is why they want me to do the YouTubes, because I have showed them if you try hard you can whistle. I was told they had never seen a laryngectomee that could whistle even with a prosthesis. But I can.

Bill

That's great that you can make the videos and talk to teens about smoking.

I can't use my situation to discourage teens from smoking, because I never did. 

However, since I am now on the board of the local NuVoice club (a layngectomee support group), I will be involved in talking to people about life as a lary before their surgeries - and answer their questions.  I did this last week for the first time - very rewarding.

Lorna

Good for you Bill!

Thats awesome.  

You will make a difference.

They will be riveted by your story.

Bill, i just think this is fantastic!!  what an honor for you and like you said, maybe you can save one or two or even 100....lol.  It is really good of you to so willingly share your story and try to prevent the kids from ever starting to smoke.  I would love the opportunity to do that.  i'm extremely proud of you and all your accomplishments since becoming a lary!  You are my hero and you ROCK!!

God bless you, Bill.

dj

wmc said:

Thank you all for your support and well wishes...

Thank each and everyone of you for your kind words and well wishes. I have always enjoied sharing information, [Triva] with others. I'm hoping that if they hear from some who did smoke for many years and can see what and how it has effective my life, they might really hear. If I can change or prevent just a few, I can be part of may be saving a life. I have to try.

Thank you, all my friends, with this group you feel like my extended family and I do thank you for that.

Bill

What a wonderful thing to do. I'm sure you will be fantastic at it and change some lives. I admire anyone that does any type of public speaking.

Wishes for much success.

Candi

That is wonderful to be able to help other to understand what smoking can do to there health. I see young men and women puffing away there health and when I go up to them and ask if they want to be like me, they just look and walk away. All we can do is to try and help them all we can; I will be looking into some charity work I can do at the hospital here in Lafayette, one step at a time.

Tim     

great news Bill.