My Life as an Asthma Mom

  Follow up from Monday's post.  I was ABSOLUTELY NOT going to send my daughter to girl's camp. There is a 40,000 acre fire in the area around the campsite, and I wasn't worried about the fire getting close to the camp-it's the smoke that gets you when you have asthma. My friend called from the campsite and said that it was clear of smoke, and that we should consider sending daughter Kitty up to the camp. She also assured us that Kitty could call every night and let us know that she was okay.  We decided to drive up to the campsite-2 hours away. We drove through a lot of smoke, but when we reached the camp, it was clear. I met with all of the leaders, and made sure they would keep a close eye on Kitty. Then I met with the camp nurse, who works in the ICU and explained all the medications Kitty was on. She assured us that Kitty would be fine, and that if she needed to leave, they would quickly send her out with one of the leaders. ...

(Spenser Heaps, Provo Daily Herald) No sooner is Friday's fire out than another one is started. This one just happens to be near Girl's Camp where daughter, Kitty, is supposed to be going tomorrow morning. It's several miles away from the campsite itself, but we all know how smoke can travel. To say I am stressed out is an understatement. I sent an email to our local meteorologist to ask about the fire and see if they could track the smoke with their Doppler radar. She said the smoke is traveling north now, but will shift the day the girls head to camp and will most likely drift into the camp. She also said canyons act very differently with wind flow, they have their own sort of "current". So the fire can be miles away, but the smoke can drift all over the mountains and fill the canyons. We have had BAD experiences with smoke from forest fires. There was a fire here about 10 years ago that almost cost Son #2 his life. So the smoke + asthma makes me a VERY s...

I knew this day would be coming- fires! We have had a very pathetic winter and spring, which means everything is bone dry. There's a lot of brush on the mountains, and it burns like crazy. I can't get a good photo of the fire from my house, if I get a better one, I'll add that to the blog. Even though they have been warning people on the news to NOT TARGET SHOOT, some people decided to shoot their guns anyway. And of course they started a fire. This isn't the first fire this month, there was one a few weeks ago-also caused by someone target shooting. That fire was quickly put out. Then the TV news stations aired reports urging people to not to go into the foothills and target shoot with their guns, but they obviously didn't listen. I can see the plums of smoke from my house, but luckily I am far enough away that we don't have worry about being evacuated. But so far this morning, they have evacuated 8,000 people so far (in the first 24 hours). But the fir...

I spent $200 for two meds at the pharmacy last week - and that wasn't including Son #2's epi pen that they had to order in. Pharmacist wisely suggested ordering an epi pen, because it would have a longer shelf life. If I'm going to pay $50 for an epi-pen (and most likely not have to use it) I would rather have it last as long as I can. But buying prescriptions for our family adds up. Hubby and I and all three kids have allergies, and the kids and I all have asthma. So things get a little expensive.  Add to that a monthly fee for Xolair injections ($150 copay on the $1000 injection), and we really spend a lot on medicine! Singulair is supposed to be going generic this year, but until it does, the co-pay seems to be going up and up. I used to pay $28 for Singulair, now I am paying about $45 a month (times three-for my three kids). I found a $20 off coupon on the Singulair website. To print your own coupon, click here.   The coupon says, " Limit 1 coupon per pa...

(Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America) Is your city one of the 10 worst cities for asthma? What makes your city get on the list? The 100 biggest cities in America are evaluated in 12 different areas, some of those are: No public smoking bans High pollen counts Frequent ozone days Poor air quality High use of asthma medication Poverty levels After displaying the Top 10 cites, the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America tells people not to move , but improve where they are living. If you live in one of the cities listed, can you push for smoking bans in parks and public places? Can you use public transportation? Can you meet with your doctor to make sure you are on the right medication? My asthma doctor said, "there is no safe place to live with asthma." Everywhere you go, there will be allergens (trees, flowers, bushes, grass, animals, etc.) There will also be irritants (cigarette smoke, cleaning sprays, scented candles, bad air quality, etc) There...

  We're one of those unlucky families that has allergies and asthma. My husband and I and all 3 kids have allergies, and everyone except Hubby has asthma. Needless to say, we don't have any pets. However, Neighbor Dog loves to come over and see Hubby. Hubby says it's because they have the same I.Q. level..... Neighbor's kitties also love us. Probably because I give them a bowl of milk every morning. Well, you know, they're just sitting on my porch being cute. And meowing. I can't resist, I have to give them a little bowl of milk for breakfast! But the problem is petting or holding Neighbor Dog or Neighbor's Kitties. They look at you with those big eyes, how can you resist petting them? Well, I usually can't resist, so I pet them. Then I head straight inside to wash my hands. On occasion, I'll pet Neighbor's Kitties on the way out the door to work. If I don't want to wash my hands, I'll use my pop up canister of Handi Wipes. Some...

(Allergy and Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics-AANMA) I was reading an article in the latest Allergy and Asthma Today Magazine about new inventions that have changed the lives of people with asthma. Their group narrowed down their choices to the Top 10 Technologies or Innovations over the last 25 years. (Kind of sounds like a Top 10 list from David Letterman....only this list isn't funny, it's serious when you have asthma! The winners were recognized in Washington DC at Capitol Hill during AANMA's 15th annual Allergy & Asthma Day.   To find out who they chose, click here .   Our family uses 4 of the top 10 innovations. But by far, my favorite is Xolair. It's for patients whose asthma is hard to control-even though they are on a daily maintenance medication. Son #2 was on daily maintenance medications, allergy medication, was having allergy shots, and would still end up in the hospital when he got sick. In fact, he was hospitalized 8 times and almost ...