Tales from an Asthmatic

I've had asthma all of my life. It was worse during my very young years and it progressively got better as I got older and more under control. As an adult it is under control but to a certain extent. I'm on a daily steriod inhaler that I'm not a fan of. I would love to get rid of it over time, but I think my body has become so dependent on it, that if I should ever stop using it, my body would have a hard time adjusting to breathing without it. However, I'm not here to tell you about me, I'm here ot share with you how I feel about parents of my daycare children who basically expect us to care for their ill child.

We have a 2 year old boy who is just like any other kid his age. He loves to play and run around and get into trouble. So, when you see this boy laying around on the ground, moaning, you know something is not right. He has struggled with breathing in the past and has had to take treatments. I mentioned to his mom once that I had asthma so I know what he is feeling. She said oh no he doesn't have asthma, its what happens when he gets sick. Ok that may be very well and true, but I still know the sound of asthma when I hear it. I know how hard it is to breath when you are having an attack and he clearly was at this moment. I felt so bad for him. We notified our director who said she would call his mom, but told us not to expect much. The feeling for him had to have been much worse than I deal with, being so little. And the worst part? His parents both smoke like chimneys. And you wonder why he is having difficulty breathing! That is one thing that just makes me cringe. How as a parent can you allow yourself to smoke in the presence of your child? I respect the fact that people want to smoke, but don't do it in front of a person who has no choice of moving away from you smoking. Don't smoke in front of children. Period. I have come close so many times to tell mom that she needs to stop doing that, you are killing him slowly.

I hope that for his sake his parents start to see what damage they are doing to him, or pretty soon he won't be telling tales of asthmatic, but as someone with cancer.


Peace&Love
~l