One of the things about the Fall that I do not like is when the crisp air comes, then comes every sickness, virus, asthma flare ups, etc. known to man. 2 of my 3 children have asthma. We had to get them on an asthma regime that we start at the end of August to prepare their body for the colder weather. It is one of the things that being a mom hurts my heart.
Fall Asthma and Children
Since my first child was born, the amount of time I spent in a hospital has been out of this world. It got so bad I would always stay with an overnight bag that I kept in the trunk of my car. No matter how much I followed every protocol of my doctors, she would end up in the hospital. I had so many uninformed people tell me things like why don’t you keep her covered up? Oh you mean put something more on her other than a t-shirt, socks, clothes, coat, blanket and a cover for her car seat since I had a car and we didn’t need to walk, yeah those things…. I think honestly black families that think that t-shirts are going to cure everything and oh don’t forget cough syrup which doesn’t help as asthmatic child at all.
Doing What is Best for my Kids
If that was the case, she would have never been sick. I used to get all worked up by having one of my older family members who never had a sick child let alone an asthmatic child tell me how to care for one. Not one time did any of those folks, show up to the hospital. Not one called to check on her progress but everyone had an opinion. This is why as a parent you are going to get many people telling you what you should or shouldn’t do. After awhile I carried on with my parenting and did what was best for my family.
Second Child, Fall Asthma Chronicles
My son when he was born had the same issue. Asthma is not the friend of the colder months. The way I care for my family when the temperature drops is different from what I do for them all year-long. I already increase hand washing but I turn into the General of hand washing or hand sanitizing when the colder months come. Anyone who walks in my home must abide by that rule. There are no exceptions. I know that no matter what I do how much I clean, no matter if I am on top of them, they may still get sick. It is my job to ensure that they spend as much time out of the hospital as possible.
Uncontrolled Asthma
Let me break my life down for when one or more of them get an uncontrolled asthma flare up. It is usually from a virus. They will get a fever. If that fever is picked up at school or daycare that’s an automatic 24 hours out of school. My kids have a threshold of 3 days before I am to automatically take them to be seen by a doctor. If they go to the doctor after doing 2 different asthma pumps, that’s an automatic chest x-ray to see if they have gotten pneumonia. These series can go from September until about May. This means that as parents my husband and I have to play Russian Roulette on who takes off because this means they could be out of school from a few days to a week. Sounds great right? Not so much.
These are the things parents or people with asthma have to deal with. A common cold can knock my kids out the park. Oh and think about it in terms of socially for them as well. Any parties or activities planned have to be cancelled sometime at a moments notice. This means that often times my kids miss out on things because its important to clear them to go back to school than to attend an event. In kid world they would rather flip that.
Fall Asthma Hospital Chronicles
I love hearing stories of people who do not know this lifestyle say the most insensitive things. For me I am pretty strong and could care less. This is our lot until they either grow out of this or we can find a sure system to prevent it. Asthma flare ups can disable a home. So the next time you see a family or know of a family that is going through this, do them a favor. One, be more respectful in how you judge them. Take that family a meal. Trust me between running back and forth between doctors and hospitals a home cooked meal goes a long way. Offer to take the child or children who aren’t affected by the illness out.
Trust me if the parents can’t get out the child or children who are in that home can’t either. Make a movie basket to send that the family can enjoy a lot of indoor fun while recuperating. This is why I always have back up plans to my back up plan. It’s the only thing to do to prepare for such events when they hit.
