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Kerri asked me if I could write about growing up with asthma. She mentions that she didn’t really go through this since she was diagnosed at 17. Thanks for the suggestion Kerri, I can think of several posts I’d like to write. I’ll start at the very beginning… a very good place to start. (Points if you recognized the shameless use of a Sound of Music quote)
I was diagnosed with asthma when I was in grade 5. I’ve asked my mom to fill in the little bits and pieces that I can’t remember. She says I was always a cougher and was the atopic type since I was very young. I was that kid who would cough for weeks and weeks after having a cold. I don’t remember it being distressing in my early childhood and my family was very used to it. I probably had mild asthma since I was very young but it was never diagnosed nor treated. My mom now says that my asthma may not be so difficult to control today if we had taken care of it when I was a lil’ gunner, what with airway scarring and the like. I hope she doesn’t feel too guilty, it’s all water under the bridge now after all.
Anyway… grade 5. It started with a cold in the late fall. I swear I coughed non-stop the whole season. I remember my exasperated teacher discreetly slipping me mint candies to try to get me to stop. As the weather got colder I really struggled to run outdoors. My lungs would burn and I would double over or crouch down to catch my breath. I was athletic and this was distressing to me. I asked my mom to please take me to the doctor because I was having trouble breathing when I tried to run.
I believe, at that initial appointment, my doctor (the same one I still see) attributed it mainly to my lingering cold, but gave me a ventolin inhaler. This helped me to feel better after exercising, but my cough was getting out of control. As winter started, I struggled to breathe every time I stepped outdoors. To the best of my recollection, that’s the first time I ever felt my chest tighten to the point where I could not take a breath in.
I asked to go back to the doctor, who sent me for pulmonary function testing this time. Apparently, my pfts showed good lung function, but the diagnosis of asthma was made because I had such huge reversibility with a bronchodilator. This is also when I got put on flovent. The flovent helped my chronic coughing, but I was still struggling with the cold dry air.
My first major asthma attack came after Christmas when I was speed skating with my class. Speed skating is done on an indoor oval ice track and obviously the indoor air must be kept cool. While I was racing with my classmates, I felt good, and it wasn’t until I stopped skating and let myself glide that I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My lungs were on fire and I couldn’t speak. My classmates were crowding around me and my teacher finally called my mom, who took me to the ER. I was treated for an asthma attack and sent home late that night. My mom says that this was the first time she ever saw me panic because of my breathing, she said I always looked to indifferent to it before that.
After this, my mom started to get serious about learning about asthma. She’s come a long way, and now she’s a bona fide asthma mom. I’m sure it takes awhile for all parents to get these things figured out, to discriminate between what is normal and what is alarming.
In any case, I struggled through the rest of that winter, and breezed through the summer that followed it. I followed this pattern for the next few years – though some were better than others – until grade 11, when my asthma underwent a colossal shift. I will write about this shift in the next few days.
My lungs, after that horrid flu, finally feel normal again. Pretty good, even. I am super super thankful for this because I think it could have been a lot worse. I have resumed work, music lessons and most of my daily activities and everything feels normal. But I haven’t done anything active yet. I haven’t been hiking or climbing, and I haven’t ridden my bike to work in weeks. Since I feel so good, I think it’s time for me to try it out, but I have a tiny feeling that something horrible will happen if I do.
However, that’s just being plain lazy and wussy. I mean really, just get up and do something already! And that’s why I’m going for a bike ride right now. I’m thinking down by the river, it will be nice and shady. It is the perfect summer day today, warm and sunny but not too hot if you know what I mean. My dad’s rebuilding our deck in the backyard and my mom is gardening. Absolutely glorious!
Searching for appartments from afar is tricky. I hope I find something soon because I have been glued to my computer following up on leads all week and it’s getting tiresome. Nevertheless, I’m very excited about the prospect of finding a place and taking that step towards being more independent. It’s time.
It’s about time I wrote a post on an actual topic, but can’t think of anything too good. Is there anything specific you would like to hear my thoughts on?
I’m feeling much better. Case in point: I walked home from the train station today instead of taking the bus.
I signed up for third year courses! Fall semester I’m taking Genomics, Molecular Bio, Molecular bio lab, Microbiology, and Sight-Singing (I have a minor in music) That sounds fascinating and terrifying at the same time. I can’t wait!
Maman and I are going to Victoria mid-July for a weekend to visit my Grandma. I LOVE the island and I’m dying for a little escape, I haven’t been out there in 2 years.
Work is good, it’s all good!
We had a lovely brunch this morning to celebrate father’s day. My sister made some delicious pancakes. Tonight we are celebrating with family friends: dinner to be followed by jamming.
My dad is my adventure mate. He’s the one I ski down crazy pitches with, discover the mountains with, climb with, canoe with etc etc etc. He’s one heck of a woodsman and fit as any person I know. I love doing these things with him and I try so hard to keep up with him. He tells everyone how strong and fit I am, which is true if you don’t count the lungs. We’ve been having some awesome times so far this summer and I can’t wait for this to resume.
Funnily enough, my dad is not an asthma dad. That’s my fault because I do my best not to show him when I’m sick so that he will still think I’m strong and able to do cool things with him. My mom always does asthma duty and I like it that way. I just hope he doesn’t feel bad about it.
I really hope you are all enjoying your father’s day and giving your fathers appropriate amounts of love and affection.
PS Did I mention my dad rocks out on the electric bass? Yeah!
Let me introduce you to my latest TV obsession: Murdoch Mystery. My sister, who has a good nose for these things, a and a wee obsession with the 19th century, introduced it to me when I got home from school. It’s a Canadian show and is set in Toronto. It features Detective William Murdoch, who solves murder mysteries with his unconventional methods (think a kinder, century-old version of House).
The best part of the show, however, is Dr. Julia Ogden, the pathologist and mortician. We love Dr. Ogden! She’s so brainy! And cool! Women in science, ftw!
Anyway, it comes on on Wednesday and Sunday nights on CITY for my little Canucks out there.
I just had my third heavy nosebleed this week. Prior to that, I had had approximately three nosebleeds in my entire life, and one was because my (then baby) brother jammed his finger into my nose. So what gives? Is it:
a) The heightened allergies I experienced this spring?
b) This flu I had? (bear in mind it didn’t cause a runny nose and I haven’t really been blowing it more than usual)
c) Has prednisone turned me into a bleeder? (Remember I stopped prednisone 5 days ago)
d) The unfortunate co-mingling of a) b) and c) in a short period of time?
Cast your votes guys, or share any new ideas. It’s not a huge deal, but I find this odd.
OMG OMG Rufus Wainwright, Renee Flemming AND Kate McGarrigle were all just on “Spectacle with Elvis Costello” jamming along it was sweet. Yay, made my week. Very cool to see one of my fav opera stars with my fav folk singer of all time. Sorry for the nerd interruption. Oh but hang on where was Anna McGarrigle?
I’m bored and starting to feel like a slacker and since I don’t feel like poo anymore I would really like to go to work today. If I worked anywhere else, I probably wouldn’t think twice about it. I still have a wicked cough though and that’s the problem. I mean, a hospital is a very confined space, especially for the inpatients and I need to think about the fact that I share a cafeteria and elevator with oncology and transplant patients and all kinds of kids for whom this sort of infection would be catastrophic. I mean, it’s not like I’m serving them lunch or wiping their noses or anything but STILL. You can never be too careful when these things spread so readily. The other thing is that bacteria have DNA too and say if I coughed over my reaction and then accidentally amplified some bacterial DNA, or even my own DNA from my aerosolized saliva (ew, I know), my results would be totally screwed. Yes, that actually is a real concern. Damn science, why you gotta be so finicky??
Anyway, if I got my mom to drop me off, then used the staff basement entrance, wore a nerdy surgical mask while experimentin’ and used hand sanitizer ten times an hour, went outside for lunch instead of to the cafeteria and then exited again by the basement entrance, I could justify going in today, and I might just get some work done. I’ll see if my mom says yes.
Ok I think I’m truly on the mend people! Not like yesterday where I faked myself out in the afternoon and then spiked a fever before bed and felt like crap again. I tried to walk around the block with my sister this afternoon which proved to be disastrous for the lungs. My peak flows are so atrocious I won’t even tell you what percent I’m at but the point is that I can feel the sicky feeling lifting. Hurray hurray. HURRAY.
We had huge hailstorm this afternoon, typical June. I wouldn’t have wanted to be caught out on a bicycle at that point let me tell you! My sis and I filmed it just for good measure. I was going to put up the video but the file kept getting lost in my computer and it’s just as well because we were being very ridiculous. Typical us.
And finally, I must pick your brains: do you know a good way to relieve pain in the ribs caused by excessive strain (read: coughing?) Other than Tylenol, I mean. It’s not my lungs that are hurting like in pleurisy, just my intercostal muscles. Peace!
