-Why Don't We Sickfics-

- Jonah - Asthma

Jonah had asthma. It wasn't something that just came upon him randomly, he had had this chronic disease ever since he was a child. He grew used to the pills, puffers and occasional breathing treatments, but for the most part his asthma was under control and flare ups were rare.
When he joined the band, he knew his band-mates and record label ought to know, but he didn't feel like burdening the younger boys or his manager with something that didn't act up.
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Jonah sat up in his bed, lost in retrospect of how brilliantly life had unfolded for him. He was currently living the dream with four boys who became like his brothers - how many people get to do that ?
Deep in his thoughts, he failed to notice his chest tightening, until he struggled to catch another breath without wheezing.
"Not again..." he thought to himself as he brought a glass of water to his lips, hoping that the cool liquid would help him. It did work, but temporarily... Jonah left to change for bed, knowing that their upcoming day was busy and it was already past midnight. He decided to take a quick puff of his maintenance inhaler and after swallowing his pills he drifted off to sleep.
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He woke up again, half an hour later. Coughing and sputtering, unable to catch a breath. He shuffled around in his drawer trying to find his reliever inhaler, but was unsuccessful. His coughs soon turned to sharp inhalations indicating his struggle to catch his breath and it grew louder until Corbyn came rushing in from the other room, only to find a panicking Jonah sitting with his head between his raised knees, wheezing and gasping.
" Jo, what's wrong ? What's happening ? " Corbyn asked, shaking the boy lightly, panic and fear evident in his tone.
" C...A...N...T...." Jonah  rasped out painfully, pointing to his chest and then to his open drawer.
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Corbyn looked through to find four puffers, a large box and some medications.
" You have a breathing condition ?" he questioned, but quickly stopped seeing jonah looking extremely colourless and still wheezing.
" What do you need ? " was his next question
" B-l-u-e " Jonah gasped as if that word sucked out all the remaining oxygen from him.
Corbyn clutched the blue inhaler and quickly handed it to him, watching in awe as jonah brought it to his lips and pressed it several times before holding his breath for a couple seconds.
And then, he sat there, a slight whistling still leaving his mouth as he panted tiredly. After some time, he finally caught his breath and laid down on his pile of pillows to rest, forgetting that Corbyn still stood there staring at him.

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He shot up again, quickly. Ready to explain himself in front of his friend,
" About that..." he nervously chuckled, " I have asthma you see. I haven't struggled with flare ups like this in over a year and it's usually controlled so I decided it wasn't worth bothering you guys with it. I'm fine now, sorry for that scare buddy." he let out.
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Corbyn took a moment to register what he had just been told.
" Ah right. But Jo we had all agreed to let each other know about this kind of stuff... What if, God forbid, something worse than this happens and we don't know what to do ? What if it happens and the medic doesn't have inhalers cause the label doesn't know about your condition ? Why did you keep it from us dude ? "
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" And that was exactly why... I don't want to think of  ' what if's ' cause there's millions of possibilities. I didn't want anyone to worry or treat me differently either. I always carry this one with me Corbs, it's all under control. Do me a favour and don't tell anyone else about this okay ? " Jonah pleaded.
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" Um okay as you insist..." Corbyn unsurely agreed.
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After that, he left to return to his room and catch some sleep before they headed off to a day packed with interviews and studio time.
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Jonah decided not to take any more chances that night, and he whipped out his nebulizer and started a breathing treatment. With the machine whirring away, Jonah fell asleep, still breathing in the medication with the mask strapped on his face.
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" Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep.... " Jonah's alarm went off and turning it off, he sat up and removed his mask. Deeming himself all good, he packed away the equipment, went in for a shower.
He plodded downstairs and made himself his usual cup of coffee as he scrolled through Instagram.
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A little while later, Corbyn plodded down the stairs, still in his sweatpants with no top.
"Hey Jo ! How ya doing now ?" he asked the elder.
" I'm all good, thanks for last night. " Jonah smiled back.
"Well, take care of yourself." the blonde said as he made himself some herbal tea.
"Yes Mom..." Jonah sassed back.
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They all strolled downstairs one by one, getting a bite to eat before they got ready for their first interview of the day. They had a total of three interviews planned for the day.
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A couple hours later, they set off to their designated place.
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The interview lasted an hour, and Jonah yawned loudly as they headed out after another sixty minutes of monotonous repetitive questions, and moved on to the second which happened to be their last as the third had been rescheduled.
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Going over the same few questions, the boys headed out and on for the studio at Atlantic Records.
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After another hour there, they all headed to their nearby Starbucks for some drinks. On the way, Jonah realized that it was pollen season and he should probably stay away from plants, so as not to trigger his asthma again and hence, he decided to speedwalk back to the car and go through the pick up service instead.
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"Guys I'm way too tired, can't we just go from the drive-thru instead ?" he asked.
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While walking back to the car, Jonah bumped into someone. After apologizing, he quickly walked away, not failing to notice how strong that anonymous person's perfume/ cologne had been.
"Just my luck to get a waft of that on the day I'm trying not to" Jonah muttered to himself.
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He knew what was to come, and he could feel that tightness steadily increase in his chest. He could sense the wind being knocked out of him and the air seemingly sucked out of him as his throat closed up.
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He coughed, and again and again until he was compelled to bend onto his knees, in a coughing fit that alternated with sputtering and wheezing.
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By the time the boys even registered what was happening, they saw their oldest bandmate, laying on the sidewalk, struggling to breathe and his painful gasps, salient to all their ears. His lips turned blue, as he kept wheezing and retracting, trying his best to get some oxygen. His coughs grew harsher, sweat poured down his forehead and temples and his face grew paler by the second.
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Corbyn was quick to help, he emptied out jonah's fannypack hoping to find what had helped the boy the previous night, but failed. He had no choice, he called up the emergency services and hoped for the best as he kept his cool and calmed the others too.
" Jonah, i need you to sit up, and take deep breaths, as deep as you can, " Corbyn emphasized as he helped the wheezing boy to sit against the bush on the sidewalk.
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Within minutes, an ambulance was by them and the paramedics popped an oxygen mask on his face before loading him into the van on a stretcher.
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The boys ran back to their car and followed the ambulance as quick as they could, all on their toes to see what had become of their beloved brother.
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At the emergency room, jonah's shirt was torn open as the doctors rushed to and from, assessing his condition.
He was injected with several steroids, and  corticosteroids, before being attached to an IV of albuterol and saline. His oxygen mask was replaced with a nebulizer's which whirred away, providing Jonah with mist to inhale.
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Half an hour later, Jonah's wheezing had calmed down and his coughing was at a minimal. He laid flat down, exhausted after this weary, dreary incident, but to his luck, he almost immediately fell back into a series of harsh coughs and gasps. His heart-rate shot up and three nurses rushed in, two moving his bed up and making him situated more comfortably while one prepared another shot of some sort of bronchiodilators to help with his symptoms.
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Jonah was panicking at the sight of that shot, him, as any other person, disliking that device. Granted, he had just gone through several of them in the emergency room, he was in too much pain to register them. Now that he was more cognizant, he flinched as she brought it close.
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" Aww love, it won't hurt a bit. It'll just help you breathe better," the nurse consoled, with a thick British accent.
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Grudgingly, jonah held out his arm, and looked away, awaiting the poke. To his surprise, he got so lost in observing outside the window that he didn't feel the needle puncturing his skin or plunging out.
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" There you go," the nurse set his arm back down after bandaging it.
She chuckled at Jonah's surprised reaction after examining his arm, and as the other two left, she spoke
" You can press that red button if you need anything, love. I'll be back shortly to check on you and bring some water for when this is complete." she said calmly, pointing towards the nebulizer which was still working away.
Jonah nodded, and she left the room quietly.
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Despite,the whirring still continuing, Jonah closed his tired eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.
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Outside, the boys were bombarding the receptionists for answers as to where Jonah was, and the poor lady, had no answers for them yet, as he had not been cleared for visitation yet.
Corbyn ushered them away and they impatiently took a seat in the waiting room, with his knees bouncing, Zach constantly biting his nails and Jack sitting with his head in his hands while Daniel left to go inform Randy.
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Jonah peacefully napped, and as the medicines kicked in, his breathing grew steadier and smoother, with his oxygen rate, slowly climbing up to the normal.
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Soon enough, the doctor popped in to check on his condition after hearing about the incident from the nurse. He came in,to find the boy asleep, his mask almost off his face, indicating that most of the treatment had been wasted. The nurses were promptly called in to handle this, and seeing that his skin colour had evened out, with his lips and nails almost back to normal, Jonah was cleared for visitors.
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" Jonah Marais " the receptionist called out, already knowing who was to turn up.
" You can find him on the fourth floor,  ask the floor front desk for more information. " she professionally informed them.
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The four boys dashed to the elevator, Zach hesitating,but stepping in anyway, not being able to wait to see Jonah.
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They got to the specific ward and met with Jonah's doctor who informed them that he was asleep, and that his asthma attack had been controlled, however he would be going on permanent pills to maintain his lungs and health.
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They quietly stepped into his room, finding  Jonah curled up sideways, his head resting on multiple pillows and a  mask on his face which itself rested on another pillow. He had his IV in and was dressed in a pale blue hospital gown, covered with a thin blanket despite sweating in the air conditioned room. The boys tip-toed in and made themselves comfortable on the couches and chairs as they waited for the sleeping boy to awaken.
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Jonah took his sweet sweet time, waking up almost four hours later. The first thing he saw was his four bandmates sprawled out on the couches, all fast asleep. He sat up slowly rubbing his eyes, removing his mask and setting it onto the side table and stretched. That was when he realized, he was not in his own clothes, but rather, in a hospital gown, and immediately covered himself up with the blanket again.
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He found his phone on his side table, and quickly grabbed it sending some texts to his mom, before snapping a picture of the sleeping boys scattered around him.
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He wanted to talk, but his throat felt dry and scratchy from the nebulizer and he was jittery from the medications, and decided to wait until he could get a drink.
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Jonah opened Twitter only to find thousands of tweets and pictures of him collapsing and being carried to the ambulance. He read the fans' get well messages and felt obliged to give them an explanation, so he typed out a tweet, and hit the send button. Almost immediately, more messages of concern and prayers flooded in, which made him smile at the Limelights' immense love and support.
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He reached out a trembling hand and poked Corbyn who seemed nearest to him, and the boy shot up in shock.
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Jonah couldn't contain his laughter at this and hearing this all of them arose from their uncomfortable slumber almost immediately.
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Jonah cleared his throat and spoke,
" Can anyone get me some water, please ?" hoarsely.
"Duh." Zach replied, handing him a bottle from the table.
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After he had had enough water, he set the bottle down on the side table and pushed the nurses' button.
Within a minute, a nurse popped in,
" What do you need Mr. Marais ?" she spoke kindly.
" Well, I was wondering if I could speak to the doctor about when I can go home..." he asked
" Your doctor is Mr Charles and he should be in shortly to talk to you." she smiled before she left.
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" You're seriously planning on leaving just after you had such an attack bro ?" Corbyn questioned him, genuinely concerned about his well-being.
" Yeah, I don't think it was too severe, and I'll manage it at home of course. " Jonah reasoned, " I just want to be out of here."
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The others had been staring as the elders had this conversation, surprised how Corbyn knew any of this. Seeing their astonished faces made Jonah realize he owed them too, an explanation.
" Guys I have asthma. The reason I didn't tell you guys before was because it had settled down and I had stopped having any flare ups. The reason I ended up here was because I had already had an attack last night, and Corbyn had helped me through it, and today there was a lot of dust and pollen nearby. When I bumped into the dude on the sidewalk, his perfume just set it all off and I didn't have my inhaler with me at the time." Jonah explained slowly.
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Just then a sleek haired young man walked in, introducing himself as Charles Winsley, the doctor who had been attending to Jonah. He went on to explain that Jonah should move to permanent maintenance pills alongside his puffers to help him stay out of problems in the future. He did not allow the boy to leave that day and insisted upon him staying for at least two more days to make sure he had complete exacerbation of symptoms and was out of threat in any way. And that was when the alarm for the nebulizer went off, indicating that the dose of medicine had been administered. Seeing that Jonah had probably taken it off without asking the nurse, did not please his doctor at all, and by the end of it, a rather grumpy Jonah could be seen sitting with the nebulizer mask back on.
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The boys hung around till visiting hours were over, before heading back the next day. They had to leave earlier, as the management had ordered them to proceed with the songwriting process in the studio, despite Jonah's absence.
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A few days later, Jonah was released and boy could you see the look of sheer joy and happiness on his face to be able to resume doing what he loved with his best friends. !
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The end ! 
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Author's Note:
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I'm so awfully sorry for the delay on this. I actually suffer from asthma myself, so writing this kind of hit home. I hope you enjoy reading it, if you do feel free to vote on this chapter.
Word count : 2500+ words
Requested by : layan13302
Thank you for requesting this, love. I hope i did it justice !!
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Stay safe & happy, love you all 💕💕
~ H