Asthma?

Robert complained of difficulty breathing on Friday. He felt like his lungs weren't inflating enough. He was fine in every other way, though, no fever or abdominal pain or cough or wheeze. I told him to keep monitoring it. Well, it bothered him all weekend, getting him more concerned. We went to see the doctor on Monday. They had us come in the back door, met by a nurse in full protective equipment with gown, double masks, gloves, and face shield. It was the "Covid" protocol for patients with breathing issues. The doctor was dressed the same. They listened and determined his lungs were a little tight. They did what Robert feared would happen: prescribed 5 days of steroids and breathing treatments every 4 hours. 

The first couple days, the treatments seemed to help a little. Then he said it wasn't getting better anymore. The doctor said to come back if things didn't get better after a few days, so I made another appointment for this morning, Friday.

They greeted us in full Covid regalia again. The doctor asked a TON of questions about how the breathing difficulty felt and when it started feeling that way. Then she listened to his heart and lungs and asked how the breathing issue felt right now. He said it was the same. Then she let him know that his lungs were perfectly clear and functioning absolutely normally. There was no asthma attack. There probably wasn't any asthma attack. This was anxiety. 

Then, suddenly, it all made sense. I suspected anxiety would be an issue in Robert's life eventually, right? It was only a matter of time. This incident was a GREAT learning experience for all of us. Robert saw and felt the effects of his fears...a tangible, memorable, powerful witness of the worries that drive his life. He was so anxious about an asthma attack that he convinced himself he was having one. His doctor asked if we had considered counseling. Robert got a little weirded out by that question until I explained that a counselor has a lot of experience helping people deal with anxiety and would have several tools he could use to deal with stress like this in the future. He thought that was a good idea :)