Breath-taking!

So, yesterday morning I truly experienced something breathtaking ... I choked on some food and didn't breathe for maybe as much as two minutes!

Quick version: In a hurry to get ready yesterday morning I was working on face and hair, standing in front of a mirror, and eating toast while I worked. I don't know how but the toast got caught in my throat. Without oxygen, I not only couldn't breathe -- I couldn't speak. Jim was far off down the hall in the living area. I tried to cough it out, etc -- nothing. So I went out in the hall to get Jim's attention. We have cement walls -- banging on a cement wall doesn't create much noise and I was trying to conserve what ever oxygen I still had so I just slapped the wall until he heard me. By the time he reached me, I had dislodged something enough so that I could wheeze a little. So he didn't want to do the H. Maneuver and cause injury... Anyway, I poured some water into my mouth, spilled a whole lot of it, and begged God to give me breath. And He did. There's no scientific reason that I should have started breathing but the wheezing turned into one good breath and I knew the worst was over.

My eyes were bloodshot and my head was beet red while struggling. Then, I got pale and flushed. And weak. So, I rested for half an hour and then we headed off to work.

But, at work I still was very weak and short of breath and feeling like I'd pass out any moment ... then my arms were getting a bit numb when I was working at the computer.

So, we thought -- enough! Go home and get some rest. So, we headed home for the afternoon and I slept. A lot.

I've eaten toast again ... with great care and fine success.

But, you know how people always say that life was in slow motion for them during these "near death experiences"? It's true. I can recite every little thing I thought and did for those few minutes that seemed like an hour.

We thank God for giving me breath and allowing me to be on earth for a longer time. And I'm feeling incredibly grateful and incredibly dependent. We really have so little control over life. And death.