Asthma

New category if you look beneath the post. Just when you thought you knew everything about me, I surprise you.

I've had this strange relationship with my lungs. As a child, I had pneumonia twice. I've grown up with bronchial infections that I sometimes would neglect because of monetary reasons; and the doctors would give me a lecture that seemed to last a good fortnight. I have had an infection in the muscles between my ribs (intercostal infection) that hurt like hell. But then I had this amazing lung capacity that would carry me two or so pool lengths under the surface of the water on one breath. Lifeguards employed by our apartment complex when I was a teenager were wowed by the stamina of my body. I did a fairly good job holding a note for a period of time in choir as well. It's been a toss up with the ol' lungs.

I worked as a caregiver at a daycare when I was in my early twenties. Lack of funds and my refusal to go to the physician led to a mean case of an upper respiratory illness. After a couple of weeks of weezing and coughing and near fainting, I relented and saw my doctor. Told me that I had asthma and prescribed an inhaler.

I was pissed. I was also still very stubborn. I went dancing with friends...in a club that was filled with smoking people and mist and tight squeezing spaces. I had an asthma attack that nearly knocked me to my knees. It cut the night short. I used that damn inhaler for approximately a month and then stopped.

Fast forward a few years. Off and on, I was afflicted with weezing and spurts of tightening lungs...blah blah blah. Didn't really stop me from doing whatever I wanted. I'm just that kind of person. I decided to take a conditioning through swimming class. Things were going great. You gotta remember that I'm a fat, lumbersome person. I have no grace. My young, fit days as teenage Naomi were over; but I did manage to condition my body to swim a couple of miles every week. A great accomplishment for me ( I actually miss that class). Well into the semester, I started into my regular routine of warming up and swimming my laps. Somewhere in the beginning of it, I felt this tightening in my lungs. I couldn't manage to catch my breath during my strokes. I stopped and stood in the shallow water and I started to hyperventilate because I couldn't find a breath. I tried to calm down and breath out of my nose. I couldn't do it. That panicked me and I started to breathe faster and more shallow. I left the pool and too embarrassed, I never told anyone why I was having issues with my breath.

I still don't use an inhaler. I refuse to because I don't think I have asthma. Anxiety attacks, perhaps. Hyperventilation from too much stimuli, no doubt. Asthma? Nah!