Our Experience With Asthma

Both my children were born with asthma, a chronic condition involving the respiratory system in which the airway occasionally constricts, becomes inflamed, and is lined with excessive amounts of mucus. My children's asthma episodes were often triggered by such things as exposure to an environmental stimulant such as cold air, seasonal allergies, dust and perfumes.

I remember prior to when my daughter was first diagnosed with asthma. Almost every night was spent with extreme bouts of coughing and throwing up. We would rush into her bedroom where her mother would take care of our daughter while I would clean up her bed sheets and remake the bed. We had a system going which we carried out to perfection considering the number of times we did it.

It literally blew the wind out of our sails when she was later diagnosed with asthma. It killed me to see her wearing the salbutamol mask, which administered the medication, on her face while I held her in my arms. I swear that I received as much medication from this mask as she did as the medication wafted into my nostril. We spent many a night and many a day cuddling on the couch while my little girl fell asleep in my arms to the sound of the ventilator as it pumped the medicine into her lungs.

A few years later, our son was diagnosed as well and, as before, we went through the same routine as we did with our daughter but only this time, it wasn’t as traumatic for us since we were veteran asthma caregivers by this time. By the time they were both around twelve, their asthma went into remission and they were, for the most part, much better. Every once in awhile it rears its ugly head and they have to take their puffers but this has not happened for quite a while… until this past week.

My daughter called us from college to tell us that her asthma has returned and that the machine which administers her medication was no longer working. As a result, I made the trek into Toronto to bring her another machine. Now that she has resumed her medication, she is well on her way to make yet another recovery. We dodged another bullet this time and all we can do is be thankful to God that he has taken care of her once more.

Every year, about 500 Canadians and 5,000 Americans die from this dreaded disease. Most of these deaths, however, could have been prevented with proper education and management. There is no cure for the millions of people out there but there are ways in which to control it. For more information on asthma, please refer to the following web sites:

The Asthma Society of Canada
American Lung Association
Asthma Society of Ireland
Asthma UK