Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Cancer Bitch

I started to get sick on Saturday.  That is when I noticed a painfully skinny old lady (she might be my age for all I know, smoking ages people far beyond their birth years) in the parking lot smoking.  I don't want to be nasty, I thought maybe she was helping her family and this was temporary.  Except she smokes almost every 2 hours for about 20 minutes each time.  I can tolerate a small amount of smoke for a short time period if my asthma is under control, but I have to be careful about it.  I still get a headache, but the symptoms don't progress beyond that.  The headache is bad enough, though.  I don't care how much vicoden, caffeine, oxy, xanax, whatever I throw at it, nothing takes it away; I have to wait until the inflammation subsides on its own to have relief.  By Saturday evening, the nausea was starting to set in and it was getting harder to breathe.  They left, so I thought they were just helping and it was going to be all right.


Sunday they were back moving.  She was back smoking.  I kept smelling smoke all day, but had difficulty locating where it was coming from.  I only knew one other person in my building who smoked and he was considerate about it in general.  I barely knew he was a smoker and it didn't significantly stink up the building.  Now my eyes, nose and throat were burning.  The headache continues, the nausea means I have no appetite to eat.  As I continue to struggle to prevent a full blown attack, my blood pressure and heart rate rise to very unhealthy levels.  Using the nebulizers and rescue inhalers interferes with my ability to sleep, so I am also becoming fatigued.  Still, I was patient because when I first moved in here I alerted the manager at the time to my condition.  I was given the apartment I was in part because she assured me there was no smoking in front of the building at all, smokers had a designated spot behind the building where I would not notice.  I only had to go to the back of the building to take out the trash, or maybe to walk my dog, but the dog could be walked elsewhere if smokers were around.  This was not a problem.  For the last three years, the issue of second hand smoke to my health was minimal and intermittent.  Until now, that is.


Monday I am feeling even worse.  I kept smelling smoke.  Here, if she wanted to finish her cigarette later, she was leaving it burn by the door and coming back to it.  My balcony is only a few feet from the front door of the building.  I finally "caught" her smoking underneath my balcony at 7:15pm, just a few minutes after the main office closed.  I explained to her I had asthma and asked her to smoke elsewhere.  She walked a few feet away and smoked right by my car.  The smoke drifted in my apartment.  I thought well, I can wait until morning to notify the manager and inform her so she could instruct the new tenant where the designated smoking areas were.  That was until she was back smoking right by my car at 9:15pm.  I timed her both times, she smokes for twenty minutes.  She smokes every 2 hours for 20 minutes!  By the time the air clears, I only have a few minutes in between each one of her smoking breaks to catch my breath.  I called the management and asked to speak directly to our on site manager, Linda Bolinger who is employed by Simco Management.  It is a large corporation with hundreds of buildings.  Just the buildings visible to me from my balcony total 13 with 12 apartments in each.  There are more down over the hill I cannot see and it is just here in The Liberty Heights Apartments in Alliance, Ohio.  They have several more in this state, and I believe in other states as well. 


I informed her for the second time, since she claimed she didn't know, I had Asthma and this woman was smoking near my apartment.  I asked her to show her where the smoking areas were designated, and I was informed there were no designated smoking areas and this woman had a right to smoke where she wanted to.  New resident manager and there are new rules, I see.  I told her I had a right to a safe living environment, and Simco Management had a duty to provide a safe living area.  Second hand smoke carries significant health risks for a healthy person.  For a person suffering from a chronic medical condition such as a respiratory disorder, second hand smoke can be fatal.  I know it sounds dramatic, but if you have ever been around someone having an acute attack, you know it is indeed life threatening.  I was informed if the smoke bothered me, I was to close my doors and windows and utilize the air conditioning at my own expense, of course.  The air conditioner is not central air, it is a window unit which will pull some of the air from the outside.  It will not help reduce my exposure to second hand smoke.  Linda Bolinger was adamant about this woman's right to smoke anywhere she wanted to, though it compromised my health.  I suggested the solution was quite simple and would cost them nothing to implement;    designate an area outdoors where they could smoke that was not around my apt.  The property is more than large enough to designate a section away from all apts, they could even designate more than a single area.  Linda Bolinger laughed at my proposal, she mocked the extent the smoke was affecting me and she minimized the medication I require to combat the smoke I an being forcibly subjected to.  Linda Bolinger demanded I prove the smoke was adverse to my health, and demanded I prove Simco or herself are being negligent by insisting this woman's right to smoke where she pleased surpassed my right to be safe in my own home.  I have filed a complaint with the Ohio Board of Health, and have an appt with legal aid tomorrow. My head hurts so bad and they were out there laughing & talking so big about seeing what the smoking policies were on their contract (does not address except building halls) because she has health problems and doesn't want to walk far enough away from the building. It "winds" her when she walks too far. I just came from throwing up and she doesn't want to walk too far to smoke. The res manager laughed at me when I told her how badly the smoke was affecting me. She minimized what I go through with all the damn prednisone I have to take, and she refused to designate an outdoor smoking area. What could have been simply and easily resolved has now got me pissed as fucking hell for how I have been treated. If I am able, I will sue for the days I have been sick as a result of their negligence. If the atty advises me to, I will seek treatment tomorrow because I am getting sicker every time she plays this game. I should not require medication to breathe the air in my own home. The res manager is getting a big kick out of this and so is that woman. She is so sick she looks like death. And yet she is still mean enough to smoke outside of my window. I also have inquired if I can press assault charges on this woman for deliberately smoking outside of my apt after she was informed I have Asthma. It is being looked into. At first they were like "no, we can't make that stick" until they heard what this woman has continued to do to ensure I am sick. Could fall under a domestic violence charge if not assault. I am also naming res manager and Simco properties if I am able to name codefendants. They were informed and refused to ensure I have a safe environment to live in. I was not being unreasonable to ask that outdoor smoking be permitted in an area away from me. She has a right to smoke, but she does not have a right to willfully inflict harm upon me in doing so.   This really sucks!

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous10:44 PM

    she is an effin biotch! I will spread the word about Liberty Height Apartments and Simco Mngt that is plain wrong what they are doing to you and I'm a smoker

    ReplyDelete

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