INHALE/EXHALE

Chapter 2-"999 whats your emergency"

"999 what's your emergency?"

I hear my mum screaming down the phone, "My daughter can't breathe, I-I-I need an ambulance NOW!". The operator puts on a calm like voice to try and get my mum to slow down so they are able to understand her. "My daughter has came downstairs and told me she cannot breathe", but they ask to speak to me because I'm now an adult as they say. How am I meant to talk when I can just about breathe?. The lady on the phone begins to ask a series of questions of what seem to be so stupid and time wasting.

After 15 minutes of trying to communicate with the operator they send out the ambulance crew to asses me. "Your oxygen levels are 98% which is normal, and your heart rate and temperature are fine", states the paramedics. But that just doesn't seem right, there is something wrong with me and I know it, I know my body. I think me and my mum can read each others minds because she jumps in and says exactly what I was thinking. The ambulance crew look at each other whilst scribbling down my results, deciding whether to make a quick call to the local hospital for there opinion.

Continuing to lie here I glance down at my body to the many wires glued to my skin. This is only the beginning...

Couple days earlier

Sunday 27th August

I've woken up this morning and me and a friend have decided to go to London for the day, as there's a Carnival happening. It's the first time I am going as usually I only go when its in my home town. The sun was shining and the heat was rising. I've got ready within an hour, showered, makeup on, hair tied back in a sleek pony, denim skirt and cami on and my bag packed. Before meeting with my friend, I visit the shop to buy some food and drinks for travelling. Waiting for the bus, I think its getting hotter by the minute, my makeup feels like its melting off and I'm sweating. I hope I don't smell! I am meeting my friend Cara at the city centre, she hops on my bus as it pulls up and we travel some more. Her cousin is travelling with us to London too, but she will get off a few stops after us, so we go to her cousins house.

We get a cab and only had to pay £5 to go up the road to the coach station. About half an hour later the coach pulls up and I pay £12.50 for a student return. The day goes by real quick, we've met many people and had such a fun day catching up with people we knew. It's late now, around 10:45pm, but we don't know where our coach stop is located in order to get home. We're walking and walking some more, my feet are throbbing and I just want to get home to bed. After asking around and walking for another hour, we finally find the stop. I'm so relieved!

Monday 28th August

Monday morning and I've woken up in so much pain with the bottoms of my legs. My calves appeared swollen like I had been to the gym, in reality we know that is definitely not true. My legs were extremely painful to walk on aswell, but me being me I didn't bring no attention to it and just thought it was because I had been busy all week and walked a lot yesterday. So for the rest of the day mum advises me to relax, lay either in my bed or on the sofa, watch a few chick flicks and eat loads of food, after all that's what resting is about right?

Tuesday 29th August

It's the next day and because it's the school holidays, my younger brother and sister are off school and we've planned to go to the zoo with family and friends. Everyone is enjoying themselves, having fun and laughing. All of a sudden I experience a strange feeling in my chest, almost like heartburn but with bubbles of air being trapped between my ribs, although Iv never had heartburn that I'm aware of so I don't have a clue what that feels like. Again, I take no notice of this, join in on the games and take pictures of the beautiful animals. My favourite are giraffes. I love giraffes. They are so elegantly tall and walk with such confidence, almost mirroring a model on a catwalk at fashion week. The giraffes glide with each stride they take and ever so delicately nibbling off leaves from the trees.

We all leave the zoo and are about 30 minutes from home, still experiencing a strange bubbling feeling within my chest. I place my head against the wet looking glass, watching as the clouds cry, there tears dropping onto our windows. I watch the rain drops race each other as they leak down. The cars on the motorway are driving past, with the speed of ours passing there's, the vehicles look a blur. My eyes close, then immediately open forcing myself to stay awake the whole journey home.

I get home and run up to my room so excited about seeing my fluffy pillows and puffed quilt. Jumping into bed and all I can feel are my legs throbbing like a heartbeat, and the feeling in my chest has become even more uncomfortable. Tossing and turning all night not being able to sleep, I lay on my back, I lay on my left side then onto my right and feel a slight pain. The pain was almost like being back at school and you and your friends are playing around when one pokes you in your ribs with a pencil. It's no major pain but also not discreet. I know strange.

Wednesday 30th August

6:31am

The birds are singing good morning but my eyes are screaming goodnight. It's 6:31am and I finally manage to get some sleep, not for long though! An hour passes and as I sit up to stretch I lose my breath but in a strange way. I've never felt this before and the first thing that came to mind is my heart. Iv always been told to look out for certain signs relating to my heart condition. Worried. Confused. Frightened. So I thought that if I go downstairs and grab some fresh cold water, then maybe it would help.

Mum I-I can't breathe...