Crossing Into Forever

Chapter 20

The bell to end lunch had rung and they all left for their next classes. Ella's next class was chemistry, which made her happy heart a little less happy now, because Dr Moustakas was the professor for that class, plus Christopher was in there as well. She walked with dread to the door and entered. Looking around sheepishly, she went and sat down before Christophe or Dr Moustakas had gotten there. She didn't want to walk in, in front of either one of them. It was bad enough that she had to sit there and endure either one of them. She couldn't shake the intense feeling of nervousness in her stomach, and she could feel her body shivering a little. After everything that happened during lunch today, she wished she could have skipped this class, but then she would have gotten in trouble with the professor, and she was not willing to put herself in that predicament. She wasn't sure who she dreaded seeing the most. Although at least with the professor there, Christopher was less likely to bother her. She was glad for that small bit of reassurance. She tried to steady her nerves and tell herself she was a strong person with great friends that cared a lot about her. She had heard somewhere that self-talk was a good way to help calm anxiety. She was pretty sure she was having a small anxiety attack now. She wasn't sure what else to do to help herself.

A second later she heard the loud, obnoxious voice of Christopher. She braced herself because he sat right behind her. She dared not turn around and look at him. She could feel his eyes on her back, and she wondered if he could tell she was still trembling. It seemed to be a little worse now. She tried hard to coach herself to take slow, deep breaths, but fear was starting to overtake her. She noticed her chest was getting very heavy and she couldn't seem to take in a deep breath, and the realization hit her that this wasn't just an anxiety attack...this was turning into a full-blown asthma attack. She tried not to panic. She had to calmly stand up and leave before anyone saw her struggling to breathe. She had her inhaler buried somewhere in her book bag, but she was too rattled to find it. Her intention was to stand up and carry her bookbag out to the hallway and dig through it out there, where she had some privacy. Right as she stood up, the professor walked through the side door into the classroom. With her being the only student standing up because the bell had already rung, he looked at her with an inquisitive expression on his face. The look on his face quickly turned to concern, and he swiftly walked toward her. This gave her a small startle as she didn't understand what he was doing. He grabbed her bookbag from her placing it in one hand and then placing his opposite arm under her arm and around her waist, he halfway lifted her and carried her out of the room to the hallway. By this point, she was struggling to breathe and there was the distinctive sound of high-pitched wheezes coming from her chest with every inspiration. There was a flurry of concerned whispers that spread throughout the room as everyone watched what was happening. Ella's friend, Sibylla, followed them out of the room and asked the professor if she should go get Ms. Maggie. He calmly told her to do so as he sat Ella down on her bottom and encouraged her to lean forward, to help open her airway.

He sat on one knee beside her, leaning down before her so she could clearly hear him..."Where is your inhaler? Is it in your bag?" She nodded her head "yes" as he unzipped the bag, turned it over and dumped its contents on the ground. He quickly fished out her inhaler with a calm hand, held it to her lips, telling her to breathe in as he pushed the container to expel a dose of medication. A minute later, he was instructing her to do the same again as he gave her another dose. Tears were streaming down her face, both from fear and humiliation. She could hear Maggie and Sibylla quickly coming down the hallway by now. She looked up and saw Maggie with what she knew was a nebulizer in her hand. Sibylla was carrying a small package as well. Breathing was coming a little easier, but her chest still felt very tight, and she was still wheezing. Maggie took the package from Sibylla and opened a small vial of medication, poured it into the nebulizer and turned it on. Soon a steady flow of mist was being emitted from the mouthpiece of the machine and Maggie held it up to Ella's mouth encouraging her to take slow, deep breaths to get as much of the mist into her lungs. Finally, after a minute of starting the nebulizer, she was able to easily take a deep breath without feeling hindered. Her body was shaky, but now even more noticeable. The albuterol was probably making that a little worse, but it was a small price to pay in order to finally breathe easy. She now could comfortably lean her back against the wall, which helped her relax a little more, as well.

"Dear, how are you feeling now?" asked Maggie

"I'm feeling much better now, thank you Maggie" she answered in a weak voice.

"Oh, you are very welcome. I'm so glad you're ok. If the doctor hadn't helped you with your inhaler, you probably would have been unconscious by the time we got back up here. And thanks to Sibylla, for coming to get me so quickly."

"Yes, thank you Sibylla." Ella cried as now the full weight of what had happened was setting in. Exactly what she was desperately trying to prevent had happened. She had an asthma attack in front of the entire class. "Could this day get any worse?" She was thinking to herself when she immediately regretted asking that question. The professor who had been casually kneeling on his knee during her nebulizer treatment, informed her and Maggie that she would be staying the night in the infirmary and receive nebulizer treatments throughout the night. He also said that after this class, he would be down to see her and prescribe more medications.

"I had better get back down there so I can get everything ready" stated Maggie. "I'll see you soon Ella", she spoke so cheerily. She always sounded that way. Ella was thinking how she wished she could be happy most of the time like that. She was happy earlier today, but that soon ended abruptly with everything that just happened.

"Is it ok if I go back into the classroom now, professor?" Sibylla wanted to make sure he didn't need her to run another errand or do another task before she left them.

"Yes, Sibylla but thank you for your assistance. You were very helpful."

"It was no problem professor. I didn't mind at all. I could tell she was very sick." She looked at Ella and knew her friend was devastated by the events of the last several minutes. She knew Ella was so embarrassed. She gave Ella a hug before going back into the classroom. Ella whispered another thank you to her friend before she left.