By Courtney Kays
Michelangelo was flipping through on of his favorite books while lounging back on a beat up couch. He was having writers block for almost five days and sometimes reading a good book always helped him out of it. Michelangelo had decided to write a novel based on their adventures, but told it with different characters and set it in Feudal Japan. It made more since to place their tales there if he wanted sell the book in the future. Who ever heard of a gang of ninja brothers fighting evil in New York? He chuckled to himself.
He was becoming sucked into the story until he heard a loud series of coughs intermingling with the clangs of metal in the other room. Michelangelo rolled off the couch and headed to the doorway. "Donny? Is that horrible sound coming from you or your invention?" he half joked.
Donatello wiped the sweat and oil from his forehead, his coughs lessening. "Yeah its me," he said between hacks. "I think I've been inhaling too much of the chemicals. I should take a break get some fresh air." He pushed himself awhile from his workbench and headed to the kitchen, still coughing a few more times.
Michelangelo got him a glass of water as he sat down. Peeling off his oil stained mask, he downed the glass in just a few seconds. "There," he took a few deep breaths, "I feel much better." Mikey blinked as he walked back to his workstation, wondering what exactly had brought it on. He mentally shrugged, Donatello was a smart guy and he would know if he was getting sick. He was always the first to know if one them were suffering from an illness and he would always play doctor and caretaker. Yes, Donny would know if there was something wrong. Michelangelo went back to his book on the couch.
Leonardo set up the weapons in the dojo, giving the room a once over before practice began. As he waited for the others to arrive he warmed up with a kata, working his muscles in a well-honed rhythm with his katanas. Raphael, to his surprise, entered first.
"Well, what's the occasion?" Leo said between turning himself to perform a few high kicks.
Raphael rolled his eyes, "So I'm a little early than usual. So what.
"You finally learned after all these years. Who said you can't teach an old new tricks." Leonardo said as a joke, but Raphael was not laughing. Instead he glared at him, anger in his eyes and stomped to the other side of the dojo.
"I am not old!" He barked, taking out his sais and standing in a fight stance to prove his point. "Could an old guy do this?" Raphael spun his sais, jumping high in the air with a spinning kick and flipped backwards after his feet hardly touched the floor.
Leonardo sighed, knowing he brought this one on again. For years Raphael was very easily angered when he lectured him and it always caused a fight. When he would criticize him about his skills, Raph would take it as a challenge. Now it was about his age. They were already forty-five and fifty was not far down the road. While and he and his brothers toned down their warrior ways and hardly ever interfered with streets, Raphael did the complete opposite. Every second he got he would leave and not come back until he had a battle with either a mugger or a gang member. It would be the death of him one day. He would have to learn that he was not fifteen anymore and he got over his head now. God knows if he would able to get out of it.
Michelangelo whistled as he walked in. "Hey, where's Donny?
"He's not with you?" Raphael asked. Mikey opened his mouth to say something when Donatello ran in.
"Sorry I'm late." He said hurriedly, slightly out of breath. "I got caught up with some things.
Leonardo nodded. "Well, you're here. Okay, lets begin." The four turtles performed their katas together, each ranging from very slow, precise movements to lightning fight acrobatics that took years to perfect. Soon they set up for some sparring and started out with one on one. Raphael and Leonardo faced each other on the floor and fought for a good ten minutes until Leo knocked Raphael off his feet. With a growl Raph banged his fist lightly on the floor before picking himself up. Next it was Michelangelo and Donatello.
Their sparring was not as fierce as Leonardo and Raphael's, but it was still intense. After five minutes of knocking their weapons against the other, low and high kicks, Donatello started to slow down. Michelangelo took it as a sudden surprise attack and flung himself at Donatello, kicking him in the middle of his chest. Donatello gasped and fell on his back with a thud.
"Good job, Mikey." Leo congratulated and turned to Donatello, who was still on the floor. He was gasping for air and clutching at his chest, forcing coughs out of his mouth.
"Donny! Donny? Are you okay?" Mikey ran and slid over to his side. A horrible wheezing sound was expelling from his throat and his chest was heaving up and down.
Donatello sat up slightly, still holding his chest. "It'sÉ.it's too tightÉ" He could not breath. When Michelangelo kicked him the air was forced out of his lungs and his lungs were refusing to let the air back in. Leonardo helped him sit up more by holding his back.
"Try slowing down your breathing Donny.." Leonardo suggested softly, rubbing the back of his shell. Donatello's breathing finally settled into a regular rhythm and he closed in his eyes in relief.
"What the hell was that about?" Raph asked standing over his fallen brother.
With another deep breath Donatello spoke. "I couldn't breath. Something closed up when Mikey hit me in the chest. It's subsided now.
"Closed up? Like your lungs?" Michelangelo asked, helping him to his feet.
"It felt more like my wind pipe. It just closed and the air couldn't get through. It felt like something heavy was sitting on my chest." Donatello's brow wrinkled, looking down across his feet in thought.
Raphael shrugged and put his sais away. "Well your fine now.
"I supposeÉ" Donatello's voice trailed off. "I've never had any problems breathing before.
"Mikey, make Donatello some tea. We're taking off practice for today." Leonardo ordered and the turtle in orange took off to the kitchen with a dumb struck Donatello following after.
Leo shook his head and off his belt along with his katanas. Raphael followed in suit and gave his brother a sideways glance. "Don't worry, Leo. Donny is a genius, figure out what's wrong with him.
"I hope so.
Donatello had been searching the internet and his medical books for hours. It was nine pm and this room with a glow by the light of his computer screen. His printer had been printing straight through for half an hour. Gathering up the sheets to read over first couple of pages, he ran his highligther pen over certains areas. He was coming to the conclusion of his problem.
He read some of his notes out lout to himself. "Constriction of the muscles surrounding the airwaysÉ.inflammation and swellingÉÉexhaling through airways is difficultÉ" He coughed a little and cleared his throat.
"Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease." He read and glanced up from his reading and slumped back in his seat and said quietly to himself. "AsthmaÉ. I have Asthma.
TBC
Author's Note : I used to have Asthma really bad when I was little, so a lot of this is from personal experience. I grew out of most of it, but I remember how scary it was when I suddenly could not breath out. I'm researching this as I go along. Feedback always helps me!
