My Life as an Asthma Mom

Well, it's that time of year again. Co-workers and family members are sniffling, wiping their noses and coughing. And I am trying to AVOID them.  Not easy when you live with one of them, and work with an office of sick people.  The possibilities for germs are endless. And I try to avoid all of them.  I use my sleeve to open doors (I'm not touching those handles!) I use my knuckle to punch the elevator button and then wash my hands when I finally get to my office. I wash my hands after I touch the handle to the microwave and office fridge. Seriously....does anyone else have one of "those " office fridges that no one cleans out? I am tired of being the only one to clean the fridge, and have left that to someone else. I know no one is going to take time to clean the fridge handle if they can't clean the inside of the fridge! And don't get me started on the people that don't wash their hands after they use the bathroom at work.

Why am I talking about the Teal Pumpkin Project? I mean, what does that have to do with asthma? Well, a lot!  70% of people that have asthma also have allergies (and many of those have food allergies, not just seasonal allergies.)   In fact, I was just telling my co-workers how our family has to inspect ALL of the food we eat - family parties, work parties, church parties and even restaurants. EVERY time I eat at a restaurant, I have to ask the wait staff to make sure that my chicken breast is not cooked anywhere near seafood. I also have to remind them not to use the same utensils on my chicken that they are using on the seafood. On Saturday, we went to lunch at a local bakery and sandwich shop and Son #2 ordered a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich. He knew that they make their own breads there, including some with nuts. So, he asked them to make sure there was no cross contamination. He told me that the cashier just looked at him with a blank look on her face.

Like many chronic diseases , asthma doesn't just affect the person who has it - it affects the whole family. When my kids were little, they were sick - a LOT! And they were hospitalized 12 times (usually with pneumonia .) And it was always a tough time for the whole family. And that meant plans went out the window. Sleepovers were cancelled, dinner was missed, and basic things around the house were neglected. When one of the kids was in the hospital, that's all we would focus on. Who would spend the day/night at the hospital, who would spend the day/night at home with the other kids. We would run out of groceries, the lawn would need to be mowed, homework would be skipped. Soccer practice? Nope. Scouts? Sometimes. We would fit in whatever we could. I remember driving home from the hospital late one night with Son #1 while Hubby stayed at the hospital for the night. (Son #2 and daughter Kitty were both in the hospital with pneumonia.) We were