Don't Let Asthma or Allergies Slow You Down!

Years ago, I stood in the White House, with seven other women from the Women's Sport's Foundation, waiting to meet Hillary Clinton. Next to me was Nancy Hogshead, the champion Olympic swimmer, who noticed that I didn't seem my usual cheerful self, particularly considering the circumstances. She was right. Recovering from my second bout of pneumonia that year, I had to admit that I felt spent physically and emotionally.

"I know this may sound strange," Nancy said, "but have you ever been tested for asthma?"

Asthma? It was the last thing that I would have thought of, but Nancy explained that she had been diagnosed several years earlier with exercise-induced asthma. The diagnosis led to treatment that changed her life. But me? Asthma? Never. Impossible.

But at Nancy's insistence, as soon as I returned from Washington, I made an appointment with Dr. Robert Eitches at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He's an allergist and an asthma specialist who was very familiar with the exercise-induced asthma syndrome. After a brief history test, he said "I bet your family thinks you're crazy when you're out at a restaurant, always changing tables so you're not too near the vents" Well it never seemed like a big deal to me but he was right. "And in your car, I'd bet that you're always fiddling with the temperature trying to get it just right." Who was this guy Kreskin? He was two for two and winning all bets.