Too Healthy to be Seen vs. Epiglottitis

Yesterday I told you that my sore throat had given way to chest congestion. That isn't entirely true. What really happened is that my sore throat gave way to the feeling that I was choking. It started Thursday night, and got progressively worse until it turned into laryngitis Saturday night and woke me out of a dead sleep on Sunday morning, gasping for air.

Soooo I went to the Minute Clinic. The woman asked me if I am producing lots o' sputum or wheezing, which I am not. She listened to my lungs (clear), took my pulse-ox (99.1%), and said she wasn't even going to check me in as I was fit as a fiddle.

Right. Except for the part where I am choking. She said if I can't breathe, I should to to the ER. Great. "But I am a runner!" I say. "I couldn't run if I tried right now :(" She looked at my sympathetically and gave my kid a sticker. I rasped a weak "Thank You", gathered up my kid and her sticker, and left. Hey - I might feel like I have been ridden hard and put away wet, but my lungs are working, right?

I woke up today raspy but determined. I *will* run. My husband gets up and says, "I don't feel good. I get what you were saying about choking. I feel like something in my throat is swollen."

Wait.

What?

Something in your throat feels swollen?

I hadn't thought of that! Yesterday, clear lungs = not dying. Today, I have new information. SWELLING!

So I have decided I have epilgottitis, which is, of course, life threatening. It is when your epitglottis swells up and closes off your throat. Exactly!

"Epitglottitis is a condition involving life-threatening swelling of the epiglottis. It is usually caused by a bacterial infection of the epiglottis and can result in a blockage of the trachea (windpipe) and severe breathing difficulty" Awesome.

I ran 5K today. Pathetic, but at least it is something.

If I don't wake up dead tomorrow from epiglottitis, I will do an at home workout, followed by a run on Wednesday and a gym work out on Thursday. Wish me luck - delay in diagnosis is associated with a 9%-18% mortality rate.