So this was a situation I didn't think I'd run into, but life (and my lungs) apparently hate me today. I have mild asthma which I have dealt with for as long as I remember. I very, very rarely need anything more than an inhaler treatment to keep it under control. I've had one ER trip because of it that happened when I was 12.
That is, until today.
I was covering cross country at this park where there must have been this perfect storm of asthma triggers for me. The meet went from 9-2, and I needed to be there for all of it to get results from all the area schools that were there (about 30) and get things for three notes and a story. But at around 11, I started figuring out that I was having serious issues that were being caused by the park and all the crap in the air there.
Regular treatment and the "emergency" treatmens didn't help at all. I really needed to get out of the park/gym/area to make it better and, you know, be able to breathe. But because I was the only person there from my paper, I didn't feel comfortable leaving. Especially because the teams that were going to move on from the meet were running late and we really needed to highlight them. And because I'm still very new to the paper and business, not quite sure what is appropriate in situations like this.
It seems so dumb, but I couldn't walk without having to stop and get my breathing under control, and I stayed in a place I know was making it worse. It came back to bite me in terms of deadline, because I ended up in the local ER for two hours, then had to drive back to town to file my story and wasn't able to give it the time or energy it deserved.
So, people who have been doing this much longer than me, is this a situation where I should have bailed and done phone interviews? And when it is appropriate to bail on an event for personal or health-related reasons.
That is, until today.
I was covering cross country at this park where there must have been this perfect storm of asthma triggers for me. The meet went from 9-2, and I needed to be there for all of it to get results from all the area schools that were there (about 30) and get things for three notes and a story. But at around 11, I started figuring out that I was having serious issues that were being caused by the park and all the crap in the air there.
Regular treatment and the "emergency" treatmens didn't help at all. I really needed to get out of the park/gym/area to make it better and, you know, be able to breathe. But because I was the only person there from my paper, I didn't feel comfortable leaving. Especially because the teams that were going to move on from the meet were running late and we really needed to highlight them. And because I'm still very new to the paper and business, not quite sure what is appropriate in situations like this.
It seems so dumb, but I couldn't walk without having to stop and get my breathing under control, and I stayed in a place I know was making it worse. It came back to bite me in terms of deadline, because I ended up in the local ER for two hours, then had to drive back to town to file my story and wasn't able to give it the time or energy it deserved.
So, people who have been doing this much longer than me, is this a situation where I should have bailed and done phone interviews? And when it is appropriate to bail on an event for personal or health-related reasons.
