Scary Moment

This cold has been wicked.  The original one I had 5-6 weeks ago was bad enough but I guess when you don't completely recover from a serious cold and it flares up it's going to be worse still.

 I've been to Emergency a couple of times in my life but the other day when I had trouble breathing was very frightening for me.  Breathing is life.  What happens is that I cough and cough but nothing is expelled from my lungs...no sputum.  It feels as though there's something there that just won't come up.

I started taking an antibiotic yesterday and thought healing wasn't far away but, when I went to bed last night, I started to cough again but this time it was worse.  I got into a spasm of coughing which didn't give me time to draw in a breath and I seriously felt as though I was about to pass out.  The thought that I should call 911 before that happened flit through my mind.  

I didn't pass out but it scared me pretty badly.  Something told me that I had to continue coughing to expel whatever was in my lungs...the hospital exray and the two doctors I saw on Friday had said my lungs were clear but something was there.

Still afraid of losing my breath again, I tried doing a lengthier cough which I thought might help dislodge mucus.  It did just a little bit and for the first time I saw that the mucus was very sticky.  I know this isn't a pleasant image but someone besides me might go through this at some time.

And so I coughed...and coughed...and coughed...and it worked just a little bit each time but it worked.  Today I'm feeling much stronger but still coughing a bit (looser) and my sinuses are still clogged.  It's cold as hell outside with snow, sleet, and rain but I'm not going out so who cares.

According to the weather report, Springtime temps might show up next weekend with a hint on Wednesday.  I hope I'm feeling well enough to go out on Wednesday to get some chores done...banking, income tax, a few groceries, etc.  Nothing that needs doing right away but soon.

I'm assuming that the reason my cough wasn't producing sputum was because it was sticking to my esophagus.  In any case, the resulting inability to draw breath was awful.  I don't know how asthmatics handle it.

Now, after treating the reader to some icky graphic descriptions, I hope the worst is behind me and that I learned something from my illness.