New Adventures in Aspiration
Friday February 13th 2009
As all should know, Bon Scott was the original lead singer of ACDC and is famous for shuffling off this mortal coil by choking on his own vomit after a marathon drinking session.
The reason I recount this sordid tale is because last night I almost managed the same feat - albiet without the aid of alcohol (and of course the very fact that I'm writing these words shows that I didn't shuffle off any coils - unless Edison has finally got that spooky telephone working).
It happened thusly. I was woken in the early hours of the morning from a particularly unpleasant dream about my tax return by my stomach deciding it would be fun to void its contents through my throat. I managed to avert this plan by reflexively jerking upwards into a sitting position, clamping my jaws shut and (and yes, this is an unpleasant detail, but necessary) swallowing for all I was worth. This avoided one catastrophe, but started a second as I suddenly found myself completely unable to draw breath - some of my liberated stomach contents apparently having decided to head for my lungs rather that back to where they belonged.
After a good deal of coughing, choking, wheezing and gargling I was able to free my airway and resume normal respiration. The slight shortness of breath and mild chest pains I find myself subject to today however suggest that I may be in line for a bout of aspiration pneumonia, which should be plenty of fun.
I'll keep an eye on it.
In other news, how did I not know that Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin were born on the same day? Happy (late) 200th birthday Mr Lincoln!
