I remember when

[Guest guest]

Here's mine...

" I remember when... "

My albuterol inhaler didn't work for the first time. Scariest feeling on

earth. I was at school, in Biology class, the same room that served as the

physiology lab. They had been dissecting cats earlier that day.

The second I walked into the room my nose instantly began burning, my eyes

watering, and throat itching. The teacher thought that I was just being a

whiny girl because formaldehyde smells so awful. I had to keep walking up

to the front of the room to get tissues, and then had to keep getting up to

throw wads of them away. The teacher was SO MEAN! She took the box of

tissues and the waste barrel over to my desk and slammed them down and told

me to stop causing a disturbance.

I began coughing and wheezing and tried to use my inhaler. One puff... two

puffs... No relief. I snuck a third puff although my doctor had told me to

get to the nurse if two didn't work. I raised my hand and asked to go to

the nurse and was told " NO!!! "

Thank Goodness my boyfriend at the time shared the same class and knew that

something wasn't right. He kept sneaking peeks at me and then finally stood

up and screamed at the teacher. " MRS. CHARRON, JENNIFER NEEDS TO GO TO THE

NURSE RIGHT NOW!!! " The teacher looked up at me and screamed " OH MY GOD! "

Apparently my eyes had nearly swelled shut, and my lips were swollen and had

changed color.

By that time I was in a panic, gripping the edges of my desk, and the

teacher wouldn't let me leave, instead she called the nurse up to the room

from the phone on the wall. The last thing I remember is the nurse running

in and screaching " YOU LEFT HER IN THE ROOM???? "

I passed out, and was dragged out of the room by the nurse and some of the

male students, given an epi-pen injection, rushed to the hospital and just

missed being intubated. I was overcome by the formaldehyde and my allergy

to cats. The teacher seemed to think that I wouldn't be allergic to the

TWELVE dead ones in the room.

I was VERY lucky to have such an aware boyfriend, and that day taught me two

lessons. Sometimes albuterol wouldn't work, and teachers don't know everything.

From that day on, my mother and doctor had told me that if I felt I was in

danger with my asthma, walk out of the room immediately and at the least,

ticking off the teacher would get them to realize I wasn't joking!!! I've

taught my kids the same thing! When it comes to your lungs and asthma, they are

the only ones that know how they feel, don't take the chance, get help if they

think they need it!!!