I haven’t been doing my exercise since I’ve come back from travelling.
But it is not for motivation or for want of physical activity.
Australia is burning.
It’s not even summer yet and we have out of control bushfires and catastrophic fire conditions.
Sydney is in a basin in which smoke settles.
My suburb is in the northern suburbs of Sydney, quite close to the bush that is the end of greater Sydney. So we often get smoke haze even if smoke hasn’t settled in the Sydney basin.
Morning. Sunrise. The smoke makes it a scene from a post apocalypse film.
I think I started with a minor head cold.
The smoke haze added the double whammy.
On the train to the city for a work meeting just over a week ago, I was coughing like I had the Black Death. Kindly, a fellow passenger offered me his water bottle. Saved me. Thought I wasn’t going to stop coughing. Thought I was never going to breathe. Thought I’d have a heart attack.
Then I had a similar attack four nights later. Mr S gave me his asthma puffer. Two puffs of Ventolin and then a puff of a preventer. It calmed me down.
Actually I’ve had over two weeks of disturbed sleep due to coughing in total.
After a week of the coughing I went to the doctor. No infection. Just irritated lungs; all the nerves are firing.
Doctor prescribed the magic of codeine and a Ventolin!
I feel fine. And then the magic wears off. I’ve cancelled going to the theatre. Can’t guarantee that I won’t be the patron who disturbs everyone with a deep, spluttering cough.
I did one session with Olga, the Russian PT, heavily doses up on codeine and Ventolin. She sent me home the week before I went to the doctor. “Not exercising with no voice. It will go to your chest.” Well, it did but without any help from exercise!
Thank heavens I’m escaping to the northern hemisphere for a bit over summer. I don’t think we will have clean air for a long while.
Looking across the street. The grey sky is smoke.
lucinda sans 
The photos of Sydney we saw on the news were pretty grim. It must have been awful to feel your lungs so compromised. It is no wonder they tell the elderly to stay indoors.
Everyone is going to have to step up to the climate change issues, especially the politicians and leaders and of course Trump – as the problems are becomming quite serious now. I expect the planet is fighting back now in the only way it knows how to protect itself from man and our foolish ways. It is just like the book I read years ago. Frightening. Hope the smog gets better for you. The fires are devastating and devastating to watch.
I’ve also got the dreaded Black Death cough! Just since I went to Sydney last weekend. And I’ve lost my voice. Though I have my suspicions that singing 25 songs at the top of my lungs did not help my prospects. I wish I could kick it but I’m almost down to delivering my classes via semaphore…or charades…
Look after your vocal chords. Teachers do so much damage to them. I think the Sydney smoke and particle matter wouldn’t have helped either!
But you have a week until freedom!!??
Yes, we have finished academic classes and are now on EOYP for 3 more days!!!
Arhhhh. Three weeks left.
Oh, and my Black Death has morphed into a random cough that is more of the “Do you mind” nature. Or the “don’t make me laugh or I’ll cough” cough.
So sorry to hear about the cough…not to mention the horrible fires. It does show how quickly health can be compromised by changing climate conditions. Wishing some good soaking rains would come your (Australia’s) way–and soon.
No rain on the forecast, unfortunately. My mother’s subtropical area has never been so dry. Very concerning.
Thank you for this post and sharing your experience through this crisis. I am also in Sydney and have been constantly shocked by the smoke and the severity of the fires which don’t look like slowing down. I have recently published an article on my blog about the smoke in Sydney and it’s impact. If you have time, it would be great if you could check it out as I would be interested to hear your thoughts! Thanks 🙂
Hi. I will do.