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I pull out s and heart His respirations are rapid, forty a minute, and there’s a marked expiratory wheeze

"It’s okay, Joey Breathe with me InOutInOut" The child’s eyes, in his blue-white face, focus on h a narrow pipe

"Oh, Joey," the mother sobs "My little Joey I’m so sorry If only your father were here I’m so sorry" Her tears fall on the boy’s head as she caresses it and I see that her e has Joey been having these spells?" I try to settle her down

"It’s his sixth fit today--before that he would have one or two a ht air, or reenery--we had an inhaler but he’s used it up and I wrote down the medication we need and had Anthony take it to the pharmacy, but the pharht be able to get soo back there" Her sentences run on like the Hope River flooding with chunks of ice in March

I take lass thermometer out of its metal case and put it under the boy’s arm The mother looks surprised

"I can’t put it in his mouth When he breathes like that it won’t be accurate" Then I wait the two long in to calrees Close to norot hiarettes at the pharmacy, the last pack they had, and blew s to run to the pharer has soet your driver to take me Maybe, since the pharmacist knows me, I can persuade hiht? It’s the ave you?"

"I think so"

"Yes, that’s what they useMr Rioli!" The driver is listening to everything, just outside in the hall

Getting away frooing on like this, he could go into cardiac arrest and the next asthma attack could be his lastor the one after that I’er will be able to find some epi stashed away in the back Even a few drops could be used in the child’s nose

"Step on it, Nick," I order as we peel out of the drive It isn’t until we get to Main that I remember Dr Blum Hopefully, he’s still on the porch with his babysitters

"Little Joey going to be okay?" the chauffeur asks me

"I don’t know I’ll do what I can It depends on if we can get some kind of medication with a bronchodilator in it Status asthmaticus can be fatal"

"Status what?"

"Status astho on and on without a break"