My youngest son was born into the world at 8 lbs/14oz. He was healthy and loud and I was happy to finally see him after 15 hours in labor.

He came home to spend most of his nights insisting he sleep in my arms while I stayed awake rocking him in a chair, afraid to fall asleep lest I drop him. Did I forget to mention that he woke on alert of being placed in his crib? 

I know, I spoiled him but he was well worth it.

He was a happy baby who smiled a lot and eventually learned how to sleep in his crib.

I will never forget that day I thought I had lost him.

He was ten months old to be exact, a child in perfect health. I woke early in the morning as I always had, having my coffee first and then waking him upon my thoughts having scattered back into place. I walked up the stairs to his room that he shared with an older brother, peered over the crib and heard only quiet---it was too quiet.

I picked him up out of the crib and I have never forgotten the way he looked as he drooped in my arms. He was as limp as a rag doll, minimal breathing and eyes closed. I spoke to him and there was no reply, no glitter from any part of him that he had recognition of being held or spoken to.

I carried him hurriedly down the stairs and out into the air, hoping that the air would help in some miraculous way. It did. He did open his eyes, although they were distant. They opened and closed as I called my physician. He wished for me to bring my son directly into the office, which was situated beside the hospital.

I did so. I bundled him up and walked into the doctor's office. The look on the nurses face as she led me into his personal office did not look promising of good things. I was terrified. I did not understand how my son could be healthy and then suddenly not. There was no cold prior to that day, there was no cough, no signs of fatigue, no anything to justify why my son was suddenly lying there with barely a sign of life to him.

The physician took one look at him and sent me directly to the hospital where he would meet me in a few moments.

I rushed him next door into emergency and was led directly inside by the nurse. They didn’t even take the time to ask me more than my son's name and mine.

A few moments later, my doctor arrived and examined my son. They X-rayed him, took blood, temperature, pulse and a few other things I cannot recall today.

The doctor sat me down and explained that my son had the following:
  A touch of bronchitis
  Viral infection 
  Asthma

I did not grasp all of this. I could not understand how these "things" suddenly showed up out of nowhere. I have no history of asthma or bronchitis and neither did his father.

The explanation I was given was this: Every second child born has either a form of bronchitis or asthma, which is directly related to the depletion of the environment.

To make a long story short, my son was fine. It took three weeks for him to leave the hospital the first time (he returned with the above once more a month after returning home, and I was told it's common for this to occur,) and two weeks the second time. When he was returned home after my having spent 24 hours of those weeks in the hospital with him, he was given medication to be inhaled through an oxygen mask a few times every day. I remember crying as I put this mask over his little face the first time. He was not impressed with it and I was upset that he had to have it.

We eventually got along with the machine and the masks fine and my son ceased taking any medications unless he has an asthma attack that is difficult. He can run and play, ride a bike, play hockey and do all the things he should be doing, with the exception of staying out of extreme cold or hot, smog-filled weather. I always keep a puffer handy though. I never want to repeat the previous occurrences I did when he was ten months old.

I do have to admit though, when I had been told what he had, I wasn’t sure what it meant. I had heard of asthma and knew that it was a respiratory condition and various things affected/or trigged attacks but in all fairness, the generality was all I really knew.
 

So, what is asthma? It is a respiratory disease that restricts the movement of air in and out of the lungs. What is an asthma attack? An asthma attack occurs when the muscles around the airways tighten and the lining inside swell and clog with mucous. This thins out the airways making it harder to move air in and out of the air sacs, trapping the air inside. What does asthma sound like? I recall with my son the crackling of his breathing. That is the best way I can describe it when he was having an attack. When he breathed in or out, it sounded like paper crackling over a fire. Other times, it just sounded like hard, heavy breathing. Heavier than a person with a chest cold, deeper, strained. Wheezing. I am sure these sounds will vary depending on the severity of the attack, so my recollection is by no means a guideline. A physician is always the best resource for accuracy. What causes attacks? The triggers vary from person to person. Anything from allergies, infections (flu, cold, virus), exercise, weather changes, pollution/smog/smoke can trigger an attack. How can you help someone having an asthma attack? Get their inhaler for them. Call 911 if their breathing gets worse. Can you get rid of asthma? A small percentage of people do outgrow it, especially children who are diagnosed young. However, it is controllable for those who must live with the condition on a daily basis as long as they know their triggers, keep their medication close by and take their asthma seriously.

 

As a parent, I have learned all I ever thought I would never need to know about asthma, but it has been a long process getting here. I have dealt not only with my son's physical afflictions due to this disease but I have also sorted out my own sense of guilt for his having it. I couldn’t help but try and find fault with myself that it's a parent’s prerogative to protect. But when I began to read more about this condition, I soon came to understand that it truly wasn’t anything I had done. I hadn’t smoked, I ate nutritionally, I exercised during pregnancy. I did everything a good expectant mother is supposed to do but asthma still crept into our lives---environmentally.

My son is now ten years old and doing fine. He rarely needs the steroid-filled medication and loves to play sports. He is talkative, curious, energetic and still my baby. 
 
 

The information contained in this article is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment. 

For more information:

http://www.lungusa.org/asthma/astasthma.html

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/asthma.html

http://familydoctor.org/handouts/682.html