Removing the word 'and'

I have been working on a story for a fair few months.  Picking it up when I can and trying to get on with the editing process. The story initially took me 10 minutes to write as the idea flowed but I am now 6 months on and it's still sat here. I have to admit that my grammar does tend to be a little on the sloppy side so I wanted it to be as near perfect as I could manage. 

So,  I was almost at the stage where I thought it was ready to be sent off to my chosen magazine.  I've pondered over full stops and commas.  I've added capital letters and tweaked my words.  Checking my word count, it was spot on.  Time for the final print out.

I read it a further time and was horrified to note how many times I have used the word 'and'.
The story just didn't flow it was littered with the little bleeders.  I have spend a further 2 hours this afternoon removing almost all the 'and' words and totally re-written whole sections. 

I have to admit that I am now starting to feel proud of my little story. Just removing that word has made such a big difference to my story.

How can one little word cause so much trouble?

Wish me luck as it is almost ready to go.