Broken leg took my breath away...

[58calvin]

On Feburary 4th of 2005, as I was crossing the street, I was hit by a car. I was literally sent flying head over heals across the roof of the car, as an eyewitness reported, yet my worst injury from this accident was a severely broken left leg with a complete Tib/Fib break near the joint including a plateau fracture of the Tibia.
I was rushed to the hospital and immediately underwent surgery and woke up in the hospital room with 4 rods screwed into my leg, 2 in my shin and 2 in my femur, with several carbon fiber rods holding it all together.
Several days later, after the swelling reduced some, I was taken to surgery again and the carbon fiber rods were replaced with a C ring and 3 wires running through the tibia plateau with 4 carbon fiber rods connecting it to the 2 rods in my shin. The femur rods were removed. I was in the hospital for one month.
While in the hospital, about a week after the second surgery, I had a pulmonary embolism caused by a clots from the left leg and developed pneumonia in both lungs. I was also on morphine for about 2 weeks and percodan and oxycontin later. Granted, I was a smoker of nearly 30 years up to that point and haven't smoked since since the day of the accident. No withdrawal! No craving! Ever! Thank God!
I went to my GP about six months ago because I've been having shortness of breath. After testing, he said I have COPD. I asked, on a scale of 1-10 how bad it was and he said about 7 or 8 and put me on inhalers, which I don't like and if I fail to use them, I am worse than before their use. When I smoked, I walked about 6-8 miles per day going to work and in a six acre warehouse and I rarely got short of breath. Since the hospital stay, I get winded mowing a 25'x25' lawn.
Why did smoking quit me when I was never able to quit it? I know the smoking, PE and pneumonia helped bring this about, but is there anything else that could have contributed more, like the anesthesia or drugs I was on?

[National Jewish Health]

You may have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the diagnosis should definitely be confirmed by pulmonary function tests (PFTs).  Basing the diagnosis and severity on clinical examination, alone, is unsatisfactory.

You could also have had and may still be having recurrent pulmonary emboli.  This diagnosis should be suspected, if the PFTs do not demonstrate COPD of a severity to account for the degree of shortness of breath you describe.