#hrpayo01

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SLEEP IS FOR THE WEAK

AND I CANT EXPRESS HOW HONORED AND HAPPY I AM I JUST--

lol I’m sorry not sorry to be disturbing your sleep schedule😂 muahaha~ 

iuvneifuvnevsdfva BRUH Breathless is the second most fun AU I’ve written as a ficlet (right behind galexyfae!au), and I’m so honored that you reread it??? Like??? Hello??? AND A COMFORT FIC??? HELLO???

I’m a bit particular about Aang’s condition in the fic (since I enjoy the limitations it makes me have to write around), but it’s based on congenital (non-progressive) tracheobronchial malacia (TBM)! It’s a condition that’s usually a result or progression of other diseases or by trauma, but being born with it, like Aang is, is a bit different since whatever caused his condition can affect other parts of his body as well. It’s kindof like how Scottish Fold cats can have folded ears--they’re bred to have weak cartilage, and that weak cartilage is present everywhere in their bodies, not just their ears. TBM is essentially the softening of the airway (trachea) and the tubes branching into each lung (bronchi) so that they collapse and flutter on exhalation. Normal lungs are like balloons with a straw in the nip of it so that air passes freely in and out, but with TBM, there is no straw, so each exhale can potentially be like a balloon deflating (potentially, not always. The human body is amazing at adapting to the best possible condition). This can be exacerbated with panic, cold, humidity, changes of pressure, altitude, etc., and threaten to make the airways collapse completely. This collapse keeps air trapped in the lungs and/or keeps air from entering the lungs. CO2 levels in the blood can get pretty high since air exchange is cut off for a while. Depending on what the cause of the congenital condition is (weak cartilage--like the Scottish Folds lol--, a too-narrow chest from spine to sternum that smushes the airways, etc.) can warrant different treatments. The devices Katara uses on Aang (and that Aang use) are devices used on the regular with the condition to help keep the airways open, but they can be used as emergency aid, too, since they force the airways open and push trapped air out. Bronchodilators (like Aang’s lil bison inhaler) are the typical rescue inhaler for asthmatics, but they work for TBM, too, if the cause for a breathing episode is treatable with one (there are different kinds of bronchodilators), otherwise percussion on the back (kindof like how nurses help someone expel from their lungs) can help release trapped air (like Aang’s percussion vest which I’m not entirely sure can be portable, but I made it so😅). Service dogs are an as-need basis, from what I can tell, but Appa has more than one use that I’ve not shown because I couldn’t naturally fit it in. Might be able to fit it in in a potential next part, though, which would be fun!