mums view

Hi, I'm a mum of two brittle asthmatics, both boys, both the most cheerful little souls you could ever wish to meet ( maybe biased but they are a delight) and wanted to let other mums know that someone else does know how tough it is to have asthmatic children.
My eldest son was diagnosed at 6 months and has been in and out of hospital most of his life. His asthma is very badly managed and is on an awful lot of medication all of the time, including daily steroids which has been ongoing for 6 months now. Unfortunately we have found out in the last month that he has gone into endocrine failure due to all the steroids he has taken over the last 11 years. Tough for an adult to take in even harder for a young man to get to grips with, especially when he likes to ask questions about how this will effect him. My younger son of 7 is not as severe as his brother but does also take a lot of medication, and enjoys a number of hospital visits!!!
For my sons, this disease is part of their lives and they are used to not being able to walk up the stairs because they can't breath, or having to rest for 3 days after an exciting day out to cadbury's world, (WHICH WAS FAB) but as a mum to watch your baby gasping for breath and slipping into unconsciousness in front of your eyes is the most terrifying and heartbreaking scene you could ever imagine. The fear that every breath may be their last and the fact that you can't control that part of their life that you so desperately want to control is your worst nightmare come true. The thing I want to do the most is take the asthma away and give them my healthy lungs, and maybe allow them to enjoy a normal day, just one of childhood.
The blessing is my beautiful sons never ask why me, or complain when stuck in hospital for two weeks at a time, hooked up to all sorts of machines. I am a very, very lucky mum to have such kind and generous children whose illness gives them more empathy for other people who are a little different and maybe aren't the slotted into the normal box.
So anyway I'm going to be blogging about how everyday life is as a mum and the highs and lows of living with asthmatics. The next few months will be interesting as we will discover what they can do for Jack (11 year old) and how his life will change once the endocrinologist become totally involved.
Will bore you again soon
Kate