The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it. - Patrick Young

Old Mother Earth is wrecking all sorts of havoc this month it seems. With The earthquakes and aftershocks in Haiti,

Heavy rains and flooding in Southern California, Extreme High Surf in Northern California, and heavy snow and low temperatures over the northeast.

And here, as in my last post we have been living under a heavy thick cloud of our own pollution held down like a veil over our heads making it so difficult to breathe that most schools have kept the children in at recess.

But yesterday, snow fell. Rain moved in from the storms on the west coast.. the clouds opened and the sky cleared.

Have you ever made the statement 'I spoke too soon'? Well, I have spoken too soon. I made a comment just the other day, how with all the bad luck the past few months, at least I haven't been sick. Last year at this same time, I had bronchitis more times that I wish to recall.

Last Saturday my best friend and I decided to hit a club for some long overdue girlfriend time. I had felt a little stir crazy after so many nights in out of the bad air. When I met her I was having a hard time breathing and figured it was the outside air that night.
Recently the law changed and smoking is no longer allowed inside bars. Great news for me, bad for her. I mentioned that I would not be going out on the patio with her, my lungs wouldn't take it. And it is not the place I choose to be anyway.
There were a couple times I was left alone at our table when she went out for a smoke. And only one obnoxious, pushy, sweaty, overweight man with bad breath who didnt get the not so subtle hints bothered me.
When she came back in, we got up to dance, for the most part to avoid the aforementioned creep man.
While we were dancing, I began to really have a hard time breathing.
Now- we have not been out in a while and with this horrible weather I have not left the house as much as usual the past few weeks, but I was really heaving.
We sat for a while and had some more to drink as I caught my breath. The rest of the evening went along pretty uneventful. Until we walked to the car.
I had to pull out my inhaler. Really scary stuff.
I was diagnosed about 6 years ago with very slight asthma. Very slight. I take a pill every night and sometimes I nearly forget I am asthmatic at all. I occasionally use the inhaler when at high elevations or when I am hiking or exercising strenuously. But it is only on rare occasions that I need it.
I caught my breath enough to get us home and made it to work on Monday morning.

The entire day I felt as though there was an elephant lying on my chest.

After a doctors diagnosis, ruling out pneumonia, I left with an arsenal of medication and no real understanding of what it is I am fighting. Here I am on day 2- home from work, day 2- on antibiotics, day 2- inhalers twice a day, and day two sleeping 4 hours straight.

TMI moment: The antibiotics are causing bladder infection... the cough medicine makes me sick to my stomach and instantly puts me into such a deep slumber that I am among the dead. And Ironically, the inhalers throw me into a coughing fit until my ribs ache. - Good times

And I still cannot breathe normally.
All because I spoke too soon.
Tomorrow I will get myself to work and hope that the meds start to kick in. I wouldn't dare take the cough medicine. Codine has that effect on me.
Please let this chest cold / Asthma pass as the inversion and bring on the sunshine and blue skies.