Asthma

I boarded the bus the morning (after my walk of shame), and as we're turning southbound on Franklin to the next stop, the bus driver finds an SUV in the bus lane. I'm oblivious at this point, just settling into another ride reading the paper about the credit crisis and market drop. I didn't even notice him get out; I only recall that we've been stopped for longer than normal.

He comes back in and reports that a lady is having a heart attack. He's dialing 911. So I rush out to find a young woman suffering an asthma attack...and she couldn't find her inhaler.

I have never seen anyone in such dire straits before. I knew I had to find her good friend Al...albuterol, or something like it. We had her advair, but that's for bronchitis, not acute asthma. I carry Al along during the winter in my bike bag. We finally found it, but she couldn't even take in a breath. I swear, both she and I thought she was gonna die.

I pulled her keys out to ensure I wasn't going to be accidentally dragged along if the car got in gear, and then managed to get in a few puffs. Before the paramedics came, she was able to tell me she was on her way to school (CSC) and had never had an attack like this before.

Afterwards I damn near threw up I was so shaken up. I broke down describing to my endocrinologist why I was late to my morning appointment.

However! The Franklin Monologues finds a relevant social critique in all this. There is no doubt that asthma is on the rise, but not much is known about the exact triggers. However, isn't is plausible that ground level ozone (which reached an AQI of 71 yesterday here in SACTOWN) or other smog related pollutants are triggers? Indeed. There isn't one 'list' of triggers that doesn't include smog or airborne pollution.

She might have hugged her cat Jinx before leaving this morning and that triggered it. How would I know? And truthfully, she may never know. One of those elusive mysteries -- like global warming. But she was well dressed, driving a newer SUV that I as a college graduate could barely afford. She had another bus rider dial her parents in Rocklin.

So...this is what I see...an above average Rocklin family dependent on perpetual motoring, likely each driving an expensive gas powered vehicle that each gets less than the average MPG (because the affluent couldn't give a damn about the environment), contributing a healthy dose of NOx into the region to mix with sunlight to create ground level ozone to trigger asthma attacks in young victims. Even if the smog/asthma link could be directly related, they'd storm out of their doctor's office right into their SUVs, bitching about the 15% yearly increases in inhaler medications, and an "ah, well...the price we pay for perpetual motoring..." Just one more externalized cost, eh?

Nonetheless, this incident this morning is all the motivation I might ever need to keep riding my little bicycle to work.