My Life as an Asthma Mom

    When I look back to our 22 journey with allergies and asthma, I wish I would have done things differently. If only I had known what resources were available to our family! Since my kids were ALWAYS sick, I decided to be a stay at home mom. Trying to pay the bills on one income with 3 kids with allergies and asthma was nearly impossible. Especially since we were frequent visitors to the pediatrician, Asthma Doc, After Hours Clinics, Urgent Care, ER and hospital.  Hospital Bills   My kids were in the hospital a total of 15 times (12 for asthma), plus they had several surgeries. So we  had a LOT of medical bills. We had an ongoing payment plan at our local hospital.  I would call their billing department to ask them to add our portion of the hospital bill to my tab - and the employee would laugh. I would tell them, "I'm not kidding. We have a payment plan, and I need my 20% of the bill added to our tab." Then the employee would say, "Ohhhhh." Mmhmmm. ...

  I'm into podcasts these days (I know...I'm always late to the game!) I was listening to "Chasing Life" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.  They had an episode called "In the Blink of an Eye" and talked about how their producer received a traumatic brain injury.  The producer was involved in a bad car accident and doesn't remember much about it. The doctors didn't hold out hope that she would come out of the coma.  But - she's ready to go back to work about a year after her accident, lengthy hospitalization, and physical therapy.  It was interesting to hear about Dr. Gupta and his producer talk about being resilient. Life happens and many times there are things outside our control.  So....how do you handle life when it throws you a curve ball? I loved this quote from Dr. Gupta: "We will all one day find ourselves in circumstances we would not have chosen. And when we do, we must remind ourselves that what is in our control is how we react to the hand w...

                                                                            Do you ever feel like you make things worse when you try to clean? That when you do chores, it just stirs up the dust? Or that the strong scented cleaning supplies set off your asthma? We ran into this problem when my kids were little. My kids thought I was the Meanest Mom Ever because I would make them help with chores.  I would tell them that they helped make the mess, so they had to help clean it up. Makes sense, right?! They complained that their friends didn't have to clean their rooms-  their mom or the cleaning lady did it for them....

  Like most caregivers, I am Burned.Out. How many of you moms out there "get it"?  Having kids with chronic health conditions can cause a lot of sleepless nights, doctors visits, ER visits, hospital stays, and stress.  Things were a LOT worse when my kids were little. They were in the hospital 12 times (2 ICU's). We were on a first name basis with Asthma Doc and his staff.  But, just because my kids are adults doesn't mean they stopped having problems with their asthma. Sometimes, I have had one of my adult kids call and ask me to drive them to the ER because their asthma is flaring up, and they're too sick to drive.  Are you burned out? Isn't this  normal? Aren't most caregivers stressed out all the time?  Well, Mayo Clinic says you are burned out if: You feel overwhelmed/constantly worried You are often tired You get too much/too little sleep You gain/lose weight You are easily irritated or angry Lose interest in things you enjoy Feel sad Have lots ...

  (Allergy & Asthma Network)  Did you know that the 3rd week in September is called the "September Asthma Peak"?   What does that mean? More kids end up in the hospital during this week than ANY other week of the year! Yikes! You might think there would be more kids in the ER or admitted to the hospital during cold and flu season in winter, but it's actually in September.    Why? There are several causes: School - Kids are back in school which means animal dander from other student's clothing, possible mold in schools, and stinky exhaust from idling school buses Fall allergies - I really, really, really hate ragweed! Germ factory - it's easy to get infections from the other students Stress and anxiety with a new school year - even worse this year with COVID... Not taking meds - kids may be out of the habit of using their controller inhalers    What can you do?    Albuterol - make sure they have a full albuterol inhaler in their back...

  Sometimes I really hate asthma!  My last article was about being in the ER due to wildfire smoke from California's Dixie fire.Our state is full of smoke, and the air quality level is "red" which means "unhealthy for all". I was being careful and staying indoors.I kept the AC on in the house, keep the windows closed, and used the recirculating air setting in my car.  But - I was in a work meeting and the building filled up with smoke. It smelled like a campfire!  My lungs just couldn't recover. Two days later, I was in the ER. Steroids in the hospital  For those of you who have had a severe asthma flare, you have probably had oral steroids in the hospital. They can be given as a liquid, in a shot form, or in an IV.) It is vital to get the inflammation down quickly in the lungs, and steroids help with that. But it's nasty stuff due to the side effects. After I was discharged, I had to have a week's worth of oral steroids (prednisone.) Those also have...

  One of the most important things I teach families in my asthma education workshops, is that if you ever think to yourself:  "I wonder if I should go to the hospital?" The answer is YES! Like many places this summer, our state is full of heavy, thick smoke from the California fire ( Dixie fire. ) We have had smoke in our state several times this last month. On Friday, our air quality was listed as the #1 Worse Air Quality in the World . Yes, the world.  That day, I was at a work meeting, and I thought I could smell smoke. I glanced out the door and saw that the valley was suddenly full of smoke. And that smoke was coming into the building. I quickly took two puffs of my inhaler, excused myself, and drove to my office. But, when I got to my office, I could smell smoke in there too.  I headed home because I knew it safe with a clean furnace filter and free standing air purifiers.  But the damage to my lungs was already done.  I didn't feel well and continued...