Breathing is Nice

I haven't blogged much lately, and we haven't done much lately as the kids have gone through 2 rounds of viruses.  Well, I caught this last one and to make what seemed like a long story short, it blew up into an asthma attack.  Only I didn't know that's what I was doing.

Lucy's had many asthma problems through the years, and I've read many articles on what they feel like.  Mine did not resemble hers or the articles.  So, I kept thinking I was being a baby and I didn't treat it.  It just felt like I had a swollen, sore throat and like I was having a harder and harder time breathing through some thick mucus.  (Sorry, I know that's gross.)

So, I just started taking decongestant and drinking hot tea.  Things like that.  But I kept getting worse.  But when it got bad, it some how felt very sudden.  I was having so much trouble breathing so quickly, that I felt like I was going to pass out.

Stephen called 9-1-1 when I couldn't seem to remember how to use my phone.  But I did lie on the floor and flip through my contacts and start calling people to ask them to pray for me, but it was a struggle to talk.  I was very scared.  I called my parents first and probably scared them very badly.

The kids were so scared.  Iris was a wreck.  She just covered her ears and eyes and curled up in a ball.  And I didn't have much presence of mind to help her.  I remember a red, swollen-eyed Lucy trying to comfort her.  Clyde was shaky, but was trying to put shoes on my feet, and bring me a jacket.  I suppose his father must have asked him to do that, but I'm not sure.

But the ambulance got here very quickly.  They treated me for asthma, and by the time I got to the VERY full ER, I was feeling a lot less panicked and like I could breathe a little.  I was still scared and still having trouble, but I didn't feel like I was in imminent danger anymore.

The EMT's were very kind and stood with me in the ER hallway for quite sometime until I was given a room.  The place was so overcrowded that when I did get a room the EMT's had to clean it for me...they were so awesome to do that.  They ran lots of tests, x-rays all that and it turned out it was just a bad asthma attack.  All total I had 3 emergency inhaler doses at home, one albuterol treatment in the ambulanc, two at the hospital, one steroid injection...and I felt much better.  Shaky and a little weird, but much better.

So now I'm home and on an inhaler and steroids and I'm just supposed to rest.  And I'm so grateful for medicine, and EMT's, and nurses, and respiratory therapists, and my awesome husband and parents.  I'm so grateful to my friends that picked up my kids late at night and took them even though they weren't staying at their own house due to power outage.  I'm mostly just so grateful to God that I'm breathing so easily!  It's one of those wonderful gifts that I never fully appreciate.