Bobby Convey (left): “When you can’t breath, it is the scariest thing in the world and when they asked me if I have a living will, it seemed hopeless.”

By Michael Lewis

Front Row Soccer Editor

Former Red Bulls and U.S. international midfielder-defender Bobby Convey has been hospitalized after enduring an apparent near-death experience from an asthma attack.

Convey, 33, who lives in South Carolina, described his situation on his Instagram page. He said he was “almost unconscious” as he was carried out of his house by four firefighters to an ambulance that brought him to Roper Hospital in Charleston, S.C.

Firefighters needed to cut his clothes off to give Convey four breathing treatments and three steroid injections because his airways were closed up, he said.

“When you can’t breath, it is the scariest thing in the world and when they asked me if I have a living will, it seemed hopeless,” Convey wrote. “The doctor said I was way too close this time.”

The 5-10, 150-lb. Convey thanked hospital personnel and his neighbor who called 9111.

“Thank you God for letting me stay around for a little while longer,” he wrote. “It’s been tough but life rolls on for the Conveys.”

Since retiring from soccer in 2014, Convey said that he had two surgeries and was hospitalized on four occasions. He added that he had been on and off 10 different medications and gained and lost almost 40 pounds.

“Life for me with asthma has not been fun, but unfortunately this is my new reality,” he wrote.

Convey has a wife and a son.

A native of Philadelphia, Convey was taken by D.C. United in the first round of the 2000 Major League Soccer SuperDraft at 16-years-old, the youngest player to sign with the league at the time.

Convey played at United from 2000-04, before a five-year stint at Reading in England from 2004-09. He also performed for the San Jose Earthquakes, Sports Kansas City, Toronto FC and the Red Bulls. He appeared 13 times for New York in 2014 before retiring.

He also turned out to be a Red Bulls’ playoff tormentor. After the Red Bulls recorded a 1-0 away win in its Eastern Conference semifinal series in 2010, Convey, as a left back, scored two goals and set up the third in a 3-1 San Jose win at Red Bull Arena. The Earthquakes won the series, 2-1.

Convey also made 46 appearances for the U.S. national team from 2000-08, scoring one goal.

“I retired from soccer and didn’t really talk about it as it was just kind of forced upon me and extremely depressing at times,” Convey wrote. “It has been a pretty big adjustment for my family and I and pretty tough when people keep asking me, ‘So what do you do now?’ “

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.