***warning***For documentation purposes...this is Long!***
That really doesn't seem like it should be a question, should it? But right now it is a part of our reality (well a less dramatic form of the question but still)
Early last Sunday morning (about 6am) I heard Jax coughing from his room and then heard him scream my name. I got him out of his room and figured we would cuddle in bed (since Daddy was at work) until a more decent hour of awakening. Instead what I found was a little boy who was struggling severely for breath. I immediately called Justin to listen to what we thought was a croup cough. Justin left work and came straight home. Luckily, we have rescue inhalers for Jax and I was able to get him some of that medicine. While Camren slept, we called our pediatrician as well as our best friends to come Camren-sit. We were headed out the door to Valley Children's Hospital (I thank God we are so close to such an amazing facility) when his breath pattern and activity level returned to normal!! Operating on the assumption that it was croup we decided to wait it out at home for a bit.
After consulting with our doctor and trying to piece together the details from my caffeine deprived memories of the morning, we have determined that Jax did not have croup but was instead having a full blown asthma attack (probably caused by a cold or allergies). We walked out of the office with a whole new bag of goodies!
Along with his "rescue" inhalers (there were 2) we now have a back up set of rescue inhalers, a nebulizer (a machine that uses room air to vaporize his medications) and two more medications to use with it. So that would make his total count; inhalers-4, nebulizer meds-2. Granted they are all the same 2 medications (Xopenex and Qvar) just in 2 forms of delivery...but it still looks like a whole lot! Each nebulizer treatment takes about 25-30min and these happen 3x daily for now(that's an hour and a half every day!).
At this point we don't know what exactly caused Jax' first asthma attack, nor do we know what could possibly cause another one. His inhalers now go where he goes. Justin and I check the air quality daily. (He can't play outside for long periods of time on Red days.) We will be meeting with a Respiratory Educator soon to discuss possible causes and allergy testing, as well as management and any lifestyle changes that we need to make. Over the next few months as we get more answers, Justin and I will be making decisions on our dogs (hypoallergenic yes--but they go outside and bring pollens/allergens In) and our location. Fresno and the Central Valley's (while I love them dearly) air quality is deteriorating yearly. IF we can positively say that his asthma and breathing issues are local environment and allergy related...we will trial living elsewhere (Perhaps the coast or bay area) to see just how much of a difference it makes. None of these are decisions that we had ever wanted to make...we love our dogs and really do love our life here in Fresno. That said--our children's health comes first. And since breathing is non-negotiable...we will do what ever is necessary to make breathing the easy activity it's supposed to be.
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