Cendrine, 34 years old

“My leg was hurting for several days. Then slowly my foot started turning blue. I ended up not being able to put any weight on it. My doctor sent me to the hospital. I’ve been smoking around one and a half packs a day since I was 16 and I’ve been taking the pill for about the same amount of time. The tests showed that an artery in my leg was blocked and blood wasn’t getting to my foot anymore. The surgeon decided to amputate it to save the rest of my leg. My world fell apart. I had to rethink everything: the kids going back to school, work, home… the shock was incredibly brutal. People talk about heart attacks, but don’t talk enough about arterial disease.”