Off Topic: There is No Perfect Time For An Asthma Attack

As I have alluded to on this blog before, I am asthmatic. And not only am I asthmatic, but I am one of those asthmatics, the kind who can go without symptoms for weeks, or even months at at time, and then suddenly be hit with an almighty attack, the kind that may lead to a hospital visit, or even leave me housebound for days on end. (In late September/early October 2014, I was left housebound for a whopping eleven days. During this period, a book review that I wrote for Caroline Kepnes' YOU received a surprising amount of attention and I had to turn down the opportunity to go on television to talk about my reaction to the book. It's the only offer like it that I have ever received ... sigh.)

Anyway, what most people do not realise about asthma is that attacks can happen any time, anywhere. In theory, this means that I could have an attack while doing something terribly important, or exciting, but the reality is, the vast majority of asthma attacks happen when I'm doing something completely mundane. There is the time I had an asthma attack while drying some dishes, the time I had an asthma attack while putting a jug in the microwave, and how could I possibly forget, the time that I was sitting at my desk, writing out this blog ...

Some occasions are, of course, a bit more amusing than others. Scrabbling around for an inhaler while one is only in their underwear is never a good look, but it also beats the heck out of dying. Then there was the time I had a nightmare, leaped out of bed and a few seconds later ... sudden asthma attack. Or there are occasions like this evening, when I had a glass of water in my hands, was preparing to take a sip and ... Now that little red indicator on my inhaler is a little closer to the finish line, and my kitchen floor just got an impromptu clean.

That's asthma. Who knows where my next attack might take me?

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