Oh, for the sake of all that is holy! Man up, man!
Category A.
Immediately Life Threatening.
Lights and Sirens.
16 year old male.
Difficulty in Breathing.
"Do you have asthma?"
"No."
"Do you have any medical conditions?"
"No."
"Do you know why you're breathing quite so quickly?"
"Um, yes..."
Normally, people with breathing problems who are struggling for oxygen have a habit of turning grey, or even blue. They don't tend to turn a tomato-like shade of red, especially their cheeks and ears. I wait until he decides he wants to tell me what happened. His mates are all trying to suppress their laughter. One is laughing so hard, he has tears running down his cheek.
Now, I know that as human beings we have a very nasty (but irresistible) tendency to mock the afflicted, but, other than the fact he was having a panic attack, I couldn't quite work out what he was afflicted by. Eventually, he manages to control his breathing enough to tell me what had really happened. He handed me the box that the latest horror DVD had come in, and with the most embarrassed look, and just the hint of a resigned smile, just said:
"It scared the hell out of me..."
I was glad that just at that point, the ambulance crew turned up. I had to leave the room in a hurry, just before he'd see me join his friends in the fits of laughter.
I really couldn't help it. Sorry.
