X-post laboured breathing with heart sound is something a few people
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1 year ago
tsr-free
x-post Laboured breathing with heart sound is something a few people have requested here and on Tumblr -- here it is finally And a little writing to go with since it s been a while The heat of the steam room felt amazing after my cold swim and I was already tired It was no surprise that I fell asleep I wake alone and I have no idea whether hours or minutes have passed But something is wrong My skin feels hot and tight and as I stagger from the steam room through the deserted pool area my breathing is laboured and my heart is pounding like it wants to escape the confines of my ribs You re a life guard returning to duty outside the pool area and when I emerge you take one look at me and blanch Sit down you bark gesturing to a bench as you grab a medical bag from behind the desk I sit light-headed the pounding of my heart throbbing in my ears I barely notice the cold of your stethoscope as you press it to my left breast My heartbeat fills both our ears now fast and irregular You re experiencing severe heatstroke you say briefly meeting my eyes before searching around us Catching the gaze of another lifeguard down the hall Run for a stretcher and call 911 I don t like how her heart sounds There isn t room on the bench to lie down but you place one cool hand behind my neck for support as you continue to listen to the frantic pumping of my overheated heart I ask Am I going to be okay I didn t mean to fall asleep My words come out a little slurred and I feel panic starting to seep into the corners of my mind You hear my heart pick up even more speed Stay calm you say I ll take care of you Your heart is overworked and struggling to maintain rhythm I ve sent a colleague for help so you just need to hang on for a few minutes okay I try to nod but my heart skips a beat and I gasp instead My vision is going brown Your brow creases and you move your stethoscope below my exposed breast listening at the triscuspid valve My throbbing heart rocks your hand with every beat making it all the more noticeable how irregular it is You look at my eyes again and then down the hall There s no sign of anyone Disconcertingly a small smile comes to your lips To me you say gently I hate to tell you this but your heart is going to fail soon Before we can do anything to help you Try not to panic I m going to stay here with you My eyes go wide but I can barely breathe let alone respond You continue at a low volume almost murmuring into my ear I m going to have my stethoscope right here over your heart as it fails Do you feel how it s stumbling Tripping over itself trying to keep you conscious It can t do that much longer--maybe just a few seconds or a minute at most I can hear the valves opening and closing every last squeeze of that poor dying muscle You treated it badly and now it s giving up on you My vision is going spotty fading from brown to black Am I still breathing I can t tell anymore I can t feel anything but the pounding in my chest hear anything but the soft murmur of your words They re somehow both terrifying and reassuring and almost seductive Your heart is going to stop in the next few seconds I hear you whisper I think I m slumping against you but my body is beginning to feel far away Your voice comes once more tickling my ear and throat This is it this is the last time your heart beats under its own power But don t worry soon it will be under mine My heart thuds hard then pauses for an immeasurably long time It thuds again almost a kick against my ribs The last thing I hear is your soft sigh of pleasure as it goes still