Hell was full i guess, so they sent me back..

Prologue:
"I am sorry to put you through this", "I really am".. saying these last few words, i collapsed on the the floor next to the Toyota rental vehicle.

Holidaying in Florida over the July 4th weekend, one would barely expect to die..
but if you are that allergic to prawns as i am, well, that is a harsh reality.. After a blast of a weekend parasailing, clubbing, playing Frisbee in the sea the last sunday, we went to a casino.. having never been to one, i was excited as a child on his first camping trip.. or a women's first love.
The casino was exciting, blackjack, roulette, poker. you name it, i lost money there..After a few hours on the floor, we were hungry and went to grab a bite. I ordered a chicken fried rice and general Tso's chicken from an Asian restaurant at the food court. After eating half i felt uneasy, i saw a prawn piece or two on the plate and then it struck me, they had given me prawn fried rice instead. Knowing what happens to me when i eat prawns, i started walking to the car, my condition becoming from bad to worse. My lungs swollen and wind pipe shut i couldn't breathe. I reached my car and my inhaler didn't seem to work.after over 40 puffs from it, my condition didn't improve a bit. I gave a friend the thumbs up to call for help. The feeling i had was the same as one would get if they held their breath for over 5 min, with no oxygen in my body, i felt faint, they say your life flashes in front of you the last moments you are alive, for me it just did that. Few moments long forgotten came back me me, i managed a smile to have lived a fuller life up till then. But i couldn't believe i wasn't in control at that moment. I felt sorry for what i was putting my friends through and what they had to go through after i was gone. I lost consciousness.
Still on the phone with 911 my friends were trying to direct they cops our exact location in the parking lot. I could barely hear what was going on, but i remember hearing stuff like open the back, switch on the light. Figuring out they couldn't find us in the huge parking lot, somehow in the lapse of any reasoning, not able to convey anything, i put my head on the car horn, And i don't remember anything since then.
What i gather from people around me was the cops were there a good  one minute after i was unconscious, and they put me to the floor and a couple of minute later the ambulance was here. My friends had given the exact problem over the phone with the female on the other side of the 911 call. They intubated me (put a tube down my throat, so that the blockage could be bypassed) and i was on artificial breathing whole night. I don't remember anything, but i can only imagine what people around me had to go through, seeing my hands tied to the bed a pipe through my mouth and no way to know if i would get up or have any permanent brain damage.
All i remember the next day was some one shouting out my name, telling me this would hurt just a little bit, when they removed that respirator from inside me, luckily for everyone around me, i started breathing normally, all i could muster asking was "where am i" and "how long was i here". The answers reminded me of the harsh reality of last night.
Having being so used to medications from India for my condition, i wasn't responding to any of the treatment they had in US. My heart kept going into Tacky each time they gave me the breathing medicines. I was fine from that morning. But trial and errors with the medicines were scaring me. And every doctor asking me if my family had heart issues wasn't helping any cause either.
She stood by me, for hours and hours, taking care of me, doing whats needed, i am only so grateful, cant even begin to tell her. From calling 911 to calling a nurse everytime my heart rate jumped above 165.
It was one hell of a night i guess for everyone. Lucky for me, i don't remember much. for those who remember, i guess, thanks doesn't begin to express my gratitude. From a phone call to an ambulance next to me taking 10 min, i suppose this system works, remind me next time not to crib about the taxes i pay here. Most of it ends in good hands.

Epilogue
Got discharged directly from the ICU on Tuesday, having being classified as a flight risk (cabin pressure might collapse my lungs) i am still stuck in Florida, but somehow the paper masala dosa i had yesterday, tasted like the best paper masala dosa out there...
I wonder if life will be any different now, apart from being extra extra careful about what goes into my mouth. Guess not everyone gets a second chance.