My father got Type 1 diabetes at 11, only a few years after insulin became available, so he survived with a daily shot. Got tuberculosis at 17, and survived that too, though he had another severe bout in his late 20's. As a result of both diseases, doctors told him he would die young, so he never paid much attention to his health, smoking 3-4 packs of cigarettes a day, eating so much of the wrong things he gained 60+ pounds after he and my mother got married, and getting little exercise. He had his first heart attack at 40, a bad one, but quit smoking and lost 60+ pounds--allowing him to survive until 44, when a second one killed him
I smoked a little when young and dumb, but never close to as much as he did. Eat far better and have worked out regularly since my 20's. Am 66, and may keel over tomorrow, or last as long as my mother, who died at 88 a few years ago, despite not treating herself very well--except for not smoking.
