Is My Whole Life a Lie?
Okay, not my whole life. But all these years, I've thought that I had weak bronchial tubes, so that each time I had a bad cold, I ended up with bronchitis. But I entered the emergency room yesterday, because I couldn't really breathe, endlessly wheezing for air as my heart pounded. I kept protesting "It's just bronchitis", asking for a good cough medicine. My O2 was way down, and my heart rate was up to 97. I couldn't blow past the 110 mark on the peak flow meter. My gentle doctor explained that I had illness-induced asthma, and probably had had it each time bronchitis had been diagnosed.
At least six weeks of each winter in Korea, I'd laid on the coach and wheezed and coughed and cried as a horrible tight pain centred in my chest, until the antibiotics finally took the infection away. I haven't had the problem in almost 14 years, and aside from an allergy incident in Nashville, and some problems after running two miles in the winter cold 10 years ago, I haven't had any more than minor breathing problems when I've had colds. Those breathing problems I just took for granted as part of my weak chest, while I was grateful I wasn’t suffering the severe “bronchitis” of my younger years. (I’ve looked it up; apparently acute bronchitis, uncomplicated by asthma, would have cleared up two or three weeks at the most, and been accompanied only by minor wheezing) Kristal had asthma, and had trouble breathing every time she exercised, needing an inhaler to get breathing again, so asthma never would have occurred to me.
But yesterday afternoon the hospital put me on the nebulizer, and, dragon breath streaming, the demon in my chest letting go, I fell asleep in relief, right there with people all around me, seated on the emergency room bed. They gave me a nebulizer mask if I have to come in again, and a breath peak flow meter. I'm on steroid pills for a week, some antibiotic for the bacterial infection, and I've started rebuilding my immune system with Cold FX. And I can breathe. I've never had a cold be this easy; with no ribs weak and strained from endless coughing, breath coming with only a minor bassoon tone; I’m quietly miserable, and it feels great! I'm curious to see how my life changes after this. None of my colds have to be as severe as they have been? I don’t have to dread those terrible nights of coughing and wheezing?
I do know I have to take better care of myself. This was supposed to be my recovery week after last month. My body clearly wants to get my attention, so I’ll try to give it. Pray for me, I have a lot to get accomplished with semester, and I don’t want to let anyone down, but there is apparently a limit on how much my health can take.
In other news, I have the new Evanescence and Sting CDs in the mail, along with the new Laurell K. Hamilton short story collection. I've put the Sarah Brightman DVD collection on my wish list, Cate, but I hadn't planned on anything new from her so I'll have to see what my budget is like. And the new Loreena McKennitt is out in November... how amazing is this Fall release season? I've also discovered two new artists, Bird York and Rickie Lee Jones, thanks to a House Season 2 track search.(Go give them a listen on the Amazon website, look up Rickie Lee Jones's self-titled cd, and Bird York's Wicked Little High. "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" by Jones and "In The Deep" by York are the songs you heard on House, "In the Deep" was also featured in the movie Crash.)
All the more sweet, sweet, music to keep me homeworking and practicing stage dance steps, breathing easy all the while.
At least six weeks of each winter in Korea, I'd laid on the coach and wheezed and coughed and cried as a horrible tight pain centred in my chest, until the antibiotics finally took the infection away. I haven't had the problem in almost 14 years, and aside from an allergy incident in Nashville, and some problems after running two miles in the winter cold 10 years ago, I haven't had any more than minor breathing problems when I've had colds. Those breathing problems I just took for granted as part of my weak chest, while I was grateful I wasn’t suffering the severe “bronchitis” of my younger years. (I’ve looked it up; apparently acute bronchitis, uncomplicated by asthma, would have cleared up two or three weeks at the most, and been accompanied only by minor wheezing) Kristal had asthma, and had trouble breathing every time she exercised, needing an inhaler to get breathing again, so asthma never would have occurred to me.
But yesterday afternoon the hospital put me on the nebulizer, and, dragon breath streaming, the demon in my chest letting go, I fell asleep in relief, right there with people all around me, seated on the emergency room bed. They gave me a nebulizer mask if I have to come in again, and a breath peak flow meter. I'm on steroid pills for a week, some antibiotic for the bacterial infection, and I've started rebuilding my immune system with Cold FX. And I can breathe. I've never had a cold be this easy; with no ribs weak and strained from endless coughing, breath coming with only a minor bassoon tone; I’m quietly miserable, and it feels great! I'm curious to see how my life changes after this. None of my colds have to be as severe as they have been? I don’t have to dread those terrible nights of coughing and wheezing?
I do know I have to take better care of myself. This was supposed to be my recovery week after last month. My body clearly wants to get my attention, so I’ll try to give it. Pray for me, I have a lot to get accomplished with semester, and I don’t want to let anyone down, but there is apparently a limit on how much my health can take.
In other news, I have the new Evanescence and Sting CDs in the mail, along with the new Laurell K. Hamilton short story collection. I've put the Sarah Brightman DVD collection on my wish list, Cate, but I hadn't planned on anything new from her so I'll have to see what my budget is like. And the new Loreena McKennitt is out in November... how amazing is this Fall release season? I've also discovered two new artists, Bird York and Rickie Lee Jones, thanks to a House Season 2 track search.(Go give them a listen on the Amazon website, look up Rickie Lee Jones's self-titled cd, and Bird York's Wicked Little High. "On Saturday Afternoons in 1963" by Jones and "In The Deep" by York are the songs you heard on House, "In the Deep" was also featured in the movie Crash.)
All the more sweet, sweet, music to keep me homeworking and practicing stage dance steps, breathing easy all the while.