Here We Go Again
This was my older son (and his twin sister) three years ago. He was receiving an albuterol treatment with a home nebulizer. It was one of many, many treatments over the course of two years.
He had “reactive airway disease,” his pediatrician said. It’s a precursor to asthma, which apparently cannot be diagnosed reliably until age six.
When I was a kid, they didn’t have reactive airway disease. I would have been promoted straight to “childhood asthma.”
I’m not sure what my mom’s diagnosis was. Based on her descriptions, though, I’m guessing her breathing apparatus did not have a purple rhino face on it.
This was my younger son yesterday.
Here we go again.
I’m not sure why I didn’t see this coming. Somehow it never occurred to me that more than one of my children might need breathing treatments.
The asthma attacks are induced by common cold viruses. My sons (but not my daughters) are virus magnets.
In this case, the baby seems to have caught a catch-all virus, which he graciously passed along to me, complete with the hiccups. This may be the first time I’ve ever knelt on the bathroom floor and dealt with hiccups.
I don’t want to do this again. I don’t want to watch another kid struggle to breathe. I don’t like counting breaths… 59, 60 per minute… watching symptoms… eyelids blue, lethargic, chest sucking for air.
I don’t want to stay awake, keeping him propped in my arm and counting respiratory rates… wondering if we’ll have to drive to the ER… dealing with hyperactivity after the treatments.
Can we throw the nebulizer out the window and never need it again?
Much as I hate the treatments, I’m so thankful for them, grateful for life-air for my sons.
I’m grateful for the middle-of-the-night reminder to get reconnected to the Life-Air when I’m gasping for breath, so to speak, and feeling blue.
I’m grateful to be done with the hiccups.
I’m grateful to hold my son at all. I don’t take it for granted.
The next eight (!) weeks will be crazy around here, with packing, cross-country trips home, sorting through all manner of official paperwork, and so on. I’ll try to post useful and meaningful things as I, uh, catch my breath. In the meantime, bear with the random topics…
The countdown to our move is now in weeks instead of months!
So sorry to hear you, and your baby are going through this. I too have a son with ‘reactive air-way’. I was on the same path as you, just a few years before you. Our Dr ended up changing our son to xopenx. Same benefit as albuterol, but with much less nervousness. I’m happy to say that as of this year (he’s now 13) he’s off all his meds, and feels great. Had you told me in the middle of taking orapred, singular,zytec,nasacort, and breathing treatments that he would someday be med free I wouldn’t have thought it possible. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Know I’m thinking about you and your family, especially since your plate is already so full with the move.
the wanna be country girl – Caroline
Thanks, Caroline! At this point, we’re just doing albuterol as needed, but it sure would be nice to have something that doesn’t make him so jittery! I’ll ask about xopenx. I’m glad your son is off all his meds! I’m hoping we’re pretty much done with this with my older son, too.
OH Debbie, this may be one of my favorite posts. It belongs in a “remember that life is good” book. You’re amazing!
That is so scary. I too would have a terribly hard time coping with breathing difficulties. Thinking of you as you prepare to move–that is tough alone but with four little kids too I’m sure it can feel overwhelming at times!!!
I’m so sorry to hear he has it, too, Debbie. Was he out somewhere where he caught a bug, like used to happen with Son #1? And how did I miss that YOU were sick? I’ll be glad when you’re closer and we can help when things like this happen. Weeks, not months or years, now!!
He probably just caught it at the grocery store. It’s a cold with a little bit of stomach virus thrown in. I had it for maybe 20 minutes in the middle of the night – pretty mild. His symptoms followed his older brother’s exactly (except for the first time in the hospital!)… unnerving for the first 24 hours, and now just a regular cold.
I don’t want you catching our colds!!! I worry about you, too, you know.
Oh Debbie……..i know how you feel. Joshua’s breathing treatments started when he was three and even though they seem to be less frequent, it is never much fun. We never had a purple rhino though. I will be thinking of you and Daniel. I hope you both are on the mend.