Nearly Died Laughing... (No, I really did)

I bet you did not know that one can actually be harmed by laughing. Well, my dears, it's true. Just let Auntie Fee explain it all for you.

You see, there's this thing that happens to me, and as far as I can tell, doesn't happen to anybody else in quite the same way. (I see, in my mind's eye, my husband giving the "duh" shrug. He thinks that I may actually be an alien life form. Unfortunately for me, he has more than a little evidence to back this up. But that, on the whole, is a story for another day.) It involves laughter. Terrible, violent, uncontrollable laughter that goes on and on and on and will not stop until it has run aground. The most minor of humourous incidents can set it off, and it only happens when I am in some sort of already weakened state. It goes like this:
1. Minor funny thing is said or done, often involving Lee, whilst I am a little sub-par.
2. I begin laughing like a normal person, and then, somehow, the switch is tripped. This appears to be completely random.
3. The laughter turns hysterical, and then into overdrive. I shake uncontrollably, no real sound comes out, except for an occasional whimper or moan, as I attempt to head it off. Tears pour (and I mean POUR) out of my eyes, and physical damage begins. My body hurts and I feel like I'm in the throes of a seizure. I CANNOT STOP. The episode must run its course, and this can take awhile.
4. Often, if Lee is there, I set him off laughing, too, which just adds rocket fuel to my Guy Fawkes style bonfire of laughter. I usually wave my arms desperately to make him stop, and at this point, I have lost my vision due to the quantity of tears which have soaked my face and my clothing. I am now in SERIOUS DISTRESS.
5. When the episode has run its course, I begin to wind down, but this is still a critical time, as I seem to be unable to stop my mind returning to the thing that triggered the laughing in the first place. More minor additional waves may occur here.
6. Utter exhaustion and physical pain leave me a damp and lifeless heap, and recovery is somewhat arduous. A little lie-down is often necessary.

Many of my nearest and dearest have witnessed this spectacle for themselves. The first time anybody sees it, the reaction involves utter incredulity and not a little confusion. I really traumatised an innocent staff member once at the A & B Sound bookshop, when I had one of my more legendary episodes in front of a customer service desk, in full view of the public at the end of one of our Boxing Day sales. It was really quite awful, and I couldn't even walk at the end of it. I would catch the poor fellow shooting me nervously quizzical looks out of the corners of his eyes for months afterwards... Sigh.

SO. If you're ever of a mind to lay a bet on what's gonna carry me off to the Big Bug Zoo in the Sky, this is a distinct possibility. Me, I'd still lay major cash on a stupendous hangover, but death by laughing is a sneaky second.