So last night I went to get a cup of hot chocolate and almost wound up in the emergency room.

I’m allergic to milk, it triggers asthma attacks. It’s not stable, the amount I can tolerate and the severity of the reaction varies, with no schedule or cause that I can discern. Last night someone at Starbucks absent-mindedly gave me real milk instead of soy in my cocoa and a couple of hours later I was feeling it.

It wasn’t too bad, just a little wheezy and I won’t be running any marathons this week. I’ve spent time in oxygen tents for less milk than that. But something that struck me was that if I had needed medical attention, I might have had no choice but to start a lawsuit over it.

With no health care plan, no insurance, and no stable income, any medical bills are likely to be quite a bit more than my total net worth. Or gross worth, for that matter. It makes me wonder how many apparently frivolous lawsuits are really acts of desperation along those same lines.

Anyway, I want to reassure everyone that I’m okay. I’ll be a little wheezy for a few days, but I’m improving and should be back in action tomorrow. For today, I’m sticking to movies, books and bed.

Take care everybody.