I’m one of those. I’ve trained myself never to sleep on my back. Even lying awake, a few minutes flat on my back and I’m struggling for breath.

On a slope is okay, head and shoulders elevated.

I’m terrified of the possibility that I might be taken unconscious on a stretcher or in an ambulance, flat on my back, and be unable to change position or tell anyone. Do EMTs watch for this reaction?

In an ambulance, someone should notice, right? But how about on a gurney left in a hall?

And how about in a hospital bed? It doesn’t take long, less than a minute, for me to be gasping.

Topics: breathing, ambulance, hospital, emergency, choking, EMTs