On Asthma....

Subject: On Asthma.... Mon Jun 23, 2008 4:23 am

Quote :: This article is taken from Discover Magazine's “Vital Signs,” a feature that examines the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses encountered in modern medicine.

Tyranny And Cruelty

By Brian J. Waldron

The sound of asthma is eerie, like the wind whistling through a window on a lonely December night. The look is one of terror, born of the conviction that each breath could be the last. The feeling is overpowering: a clammy, heart-pounding, chest-tightening helplessness. As I listened to Rosemary's lungs one early morning a few years ago, I heard the expiratory wheeze that punctuated each breath as the airways clamped down, blocked by thick, tenacious mucus plugs. In her eyes I saw the look of fear mixed with a yearning for relief. As for the feeling, it was one I knew well. I did battle with asthma throughout my childhood, so looking at Rosemary was like looking in a mirror. I knew how asthma steals your breath away. I knew how trying to suck air into your lungs feels like trying to suck a thick shake through a collapsing straw. I knew how the harder you struggle, the more the tube closes in on itself...

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