Cough Cough, Wheeze Wheeze

For the last couple of days, I've been coughing and wheezing like a chain smoker of 40 or 50 years. As a result, I found myself visiting the good folks down at InstaCare this afternoon.

It turns out that I have what is termed a respiratory infection, something I had not previously been diagnosed with before now.

Part of this is due to Utah's dry, desert climate, and the other part is due to the fact that my lungs have not always been as strong as they could be.


Due to the climate and vegetation in Puerto Rico, where I lived from age 12 through age 14, my doctor diagnosed me with bronchial asthma. And in the mission field, when I was transferred from the relatively flat, sea-level terrain of Lima up to the mountains and hills of Cusco - at an elevation of nearly 11,000 feet - my lungs took a month or so to adjust and reminded me of this fact every day when I had to climb almost any flight of stairs or something akin to it.

So, my point is . . . uhh . . . let me think here for a second (cough, cough). . . .

Well, how about this: Does anybody else 'round here have this kind of problem (respiratory infections)? If so, what do you for them - just grin and bear it, or is there something more I could be doing?

Also, why is this thing I just coughed up starting to crawl out of my palm?