OK, so I was in the hospital six days. Respiratory practitioners came three times a day to test my breathing (Pulmonary Function Tests?). I think this is because I listed "occasional shortness of breath" as one of my symptoms.

I saw many different practioners, but each one expressed surprise at how high my numbers were. They even caught me during a weak spell when I felt short of breath, and said the same thing. I don't know what the numbers were, but I heard several times, "Wow, I couldn't get numbers that high!"

So, this is good news. But I wonder why I felt short of breath if my lungs are that strong. Could it be just that I was anxious about my weakness? (I was! It was scary.) Or are there breathing problems that wouldn't show up on these standard PFTs? I did two: one that involved exhaling as hard as I could, and the other inhaling.

The shortness of breath is a very minor, passing symptom that I only get occasionally. Funny how the minor symptoms get the attention. No one was alarmed that I was too weak to hold my upper body upright, but I got admitted because I mentioned that I often choke on my coffee. "Trouble swallowing," like Alice said once, seems to be the symptom that gets attention.

Abby