Photo Story Friday and Asthma in August

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I am thankful that Evan has done so well for being so premature, but I am tired of his asthma. It's August, we should not be dealing with asthma from a tiny little cold.

Tuesday Evan had a little fever, and some congestion, and by Wednesday morning he was working really hard to breathe, and the dry asthma cough started. I put a call into his pulmonologist, loaded him up with albuterol, and we headed to town (30 minutes away).

We were sitting in Starbucks (in town) stalling since I knew I would need to be in town to either go to the Pharmacy, or take Evan to see his Pulmonologist. We were eating our breakfast, and I was drinking my coffee of course waiting for Evan's Pulmonologist to call with our next instruction. As we were waiting (5 minutes), Evan went into crazy coughing asthma, and just about vomited into my hand. I knew what was coming, so my hand went out to catch the puke. Why is it a motherly instinct to quickly catch flying vomit? Luckily, nothing came out..well only a little. I quickly swiped the table clean putting muffins and juice boxes into my big purse, and out the door we ran. Evan was hysterical. He was crying because he was coughing? Or could it be coughing because he was crying? One usually sets off the other, and vice versa.

I found a spot in the shopping center with steps, and just sat holding my crying almost four year old, and rocking him telling him he was going to be fine (as Calum was climbing up and down cement stairs). After he calmed down, he said "Why do I cough so much, Mommy"? I felt so sad for him. I so wanted to take it all away. In some ways his asthma episodes and the medications that go along with it are easier now that he is getting older. We no longer need two people, one to pin him down, and the other to administer the medication. But in some ways it's getting harder, since he is so aware, and so full of questions.

Later in the day he had another coughing attack, and looked at me and said, "Mommy can you please hug me?" I of course melted knowing that in all my hysteria whenever it comes to his breathing, I had been calm enough to pull it together enough to comfort him.

He/We go through these asthmatic episodes ALL the time, why is it that I still freak out? I know the drill. I have been taking care of him since the beginning.


So as directed by his Pulmonologist we are back on his maintenance inhaler Flovent (we were off for two months), but this time it is a stronger dose, and four puffs twice daily. We are also giving his little system so much albuterol (ever 2 hours).

So I took this picture Wednesday while he was so willingly (key word) administering his OWN medication. This is new. I must say it is really nice to not have to struggle and fight with him. He helped put the medicine in, turned the machine on, and held it on his own. We have come a long way. I remember the days where it was a twenty minute fight to distract, hold him down, turn Elmo on super loud..whatever it took to get him to breathe in the medicine. Too, because he gets the concept of rewards, which he usually gets a treat of some sort after a successful breathing treatment. Even though I am always saying I don't want him to grow up, I guess it does have it's perks.