The gentle rain falling for most of last night and today in Minneapolis did not make local air conditions better, as you'd expect from raindrops carrying particulate matter from the air to the ground. Instead, the cold front took all of that Canadian wildfire smoke from throughout the air column and brought it down to the surface. Ugh.
Click to read the longer story of today's minor medical drama...
As soon as I woke this morning, I knew something was off. I had only an occasional cough, but something about my breathing was "wrong". It was half an hour later before I tried vocalizing, and my voice sounded like I had been coughing for hours, but I hadn't. I looked at social media and saw that air quality was a hazard today. (Like this post on Reddit. Strong language used.) I wondered if I was developing asthma? I know all about allergies, but I know nothing about asthma. I could inhale air just fine, but my body was telling me that my breathing was wrong somehow. I called for another doctor appointment today and let my supervisor know that I'd be out.
At the doctor's office, I was a terrible interview subject. I couldn't explain what was the problem. I still can't tell you. The best I can articulate now is that I can breathe, and I'm not gasping or wheezing, but my body is telling me it's somehow not enough. It's just somehow wrong. *unhelpful shrug* My oxygen saturation at the time was 95%, so the doctor sent me on my merry way, thinking it had something to do with my high blood pressure and sleep apnea, and they double-checked to confirm I had my upcoming appointment with the sleep specialist. Maybe I was mouth breathing during my sleep and dried out my vocal cords earlier? No idea. I'm pretty much fine now, although my eyes and lungs are still telling me that something's wrong. At least my voice recovered fully and quickly.
I took the micro bus to the grocery/pharmacy to pick up my new blood pressure medication, a higher potency combination than what I had before. A fire truck went by, and the bus driver commented that they had passed emergency vehicles almost every 30 minutes on their shift today, far more than usual. A minute later, an ambulance turned ahead of us into the parking lot for my grocery/pharmacy. There's definitely something going on out there.
People had been sharing photos on social media for a few days, capturing the beige skies from the Canadian wildfire smoke. That was fine. I was fine. Until today. News stories like this one were already talking about how bad the air quality is here. After I returned to work for the afternoon, I found this page with hourly measurements. Click the thumbnail to see the whole webpage screenshot.
That timeline matches exactly my own experience today. Perfectly fine last night. Wake up at 7am feeling bad and worried. Already feeling better by the 10am meeting with the doctor. Holding steady since then, with most of the crud coughed out of my lungs in that first hour after waking up.
I turned on the fan for the house central heating, so that filter will catch some of the pollution. I've turned on the corsi-rosenthal box in my bedroom occasionally to do an even better job while I'm at my personal computer. I'll keep wearing my mask any time I need to go outdoors.
The short version (original meme source on Reddit, and photo source on MSN via StarTribune):
*gigglesnort*
Apparently Minneapolis has the 2nd worst air quality rating on Earth today.
Edit Wednesday: I added the photograph of downtown Minneapolis half-hidden in the pollution, for better context.
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