Oldhamer Jim who faced losing a leg due to smoking celebrates 1,000 days being smoke-free
Jim Partington, a 65-year-old Oldham man who faced leg amputation due to smoking-related vascular disease, celebrates 1,000 days smoke-free alongside his wife Sarah. The couple, who started smoking at age 10, quit with support from the NHS-run Your Health Oldham service. They marked the milestone at an event promoting a smokefree Oldham by 2030. Both credit their success to advisor Lorraine Greathead and highlight improved health and financial savings.
Oldham couple celebrate 1,000 days smoke-free after leg amputation threat
A 65-year-old former singer who faced losing his leg to vascular disease has marked 1,000 days without a cigarette, after quitting the habit he began at age 10.
Jim Partington and his wife Sarah, both lifelong smokers since childhood, decided to quit together three years ago when doctors warned Jim’s smoking would cost him his leg. The couple celebrated their milestone at the Eastern Pavilion during an event bringing health professionals and communities together to plan for a smoke-free Oldham by 2030.
“It was a stark wake-up call. I’ve always enjoyed having two legs and I wanted to keep it that way,” Jim said. “I’d tried to quit lots of times in the past and the longest I ever stayed smokefree was four days. As soon as there was some stress in my life, I’d reach for the fags and have a smoke.”
Sarah, who had twice managed to quit during pregnancies but relapsed after each birth, faced her own health challenges including sciatica requiring spinal surgery. Medical staff told her recovery prospects would improve significantly if she stopped smoking.
“I had been smoking from the age of 10 so I found it really tough but I knew I needed to keep going for Jim - if I started smoking again so would he,” Sarah explained.
The couple succeeded with support from Your Health Oldham’s free NHS stop-smoking service and weekly meetings with advisor Lorraine Greathead. For Jim, a heavy smoker, the breakthrough came when Lorraine recommended using two nicotine patches instead of one.
“The thing that made the difference was the personal support and advice we got from Lorraine,” Jim said. “Because I was a heavy smoker, she recommended I use two patches instead of one which was something I’d never tried before and that made it so much easier to deal with cravings as I was getting the same amount of nicotine I was used to.”
The financial benefits have transformed their lives. “We now go abroad twice a year which is something we could never have done before,” Jim noted. “If Sarah says I could murder a fag, I say just think of Portugal.”
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