Through the Eyes of a Child

A child's perspective can often be very refreshing and even help me look at things a little differently.

This past weekend my sister and her family made the 3 1/2 hour trip to spend some time with us.  Usually, we make the trip north.  The last time they were at our house my now 7 year old nephew, Jacob, was pretty young.  He doesn't remember seeing the bed Chris and I sleep in.  Really, it's nothing special.  Actually, it's probably a little retro - a full motion water bed that we bought new for $500.00 when we first got married.

Anyway, when he found out that we slept on a water bed, all of the curiosity that accompanies any normal 7 year old kicked into gear and he had to lay on it.  My sister went in there with him and came out laughing.  With awestruck eyes he said to her, "Mom, you must have to be RICH to have a bed like that!"

I had to laugh, too.  I AM rich.  And, sometimes it just takes looking at life through the eyes of a child to remind me of that.

Traveling with asthma

This is what we packed for a short weekend trip to the coast for a family of 5 with allergies and 4 with asthma.
We needed:

• 3 bottles of Singulair


• 1 bottle of generic Zyrtec


• 1 Advair 250 disc


• 1 Advair 100 disc


• 1 Advair inhaler


• 1 box of Albuterol for the nebulizer


• 1 Albuterol inhaler


• 1 Peak flow meter


• 1 tubing kit for the nebulizer


• 1 BIG box of tissues (not pictured-because it's empty now ....)

You never know when you might need something, it's better to take things with you and not use them than not have something.

Traveling with asthma can be adventure, luckily we were all fine this time. But pack everything you have! Even if you think you may not need it. You don't want to be in another state and not have medication, a trip to the Emergency room can easily cost $2,000.

So, stock up and have fun if you are traveling somewhere this summer. Make a list and check it twice and make sure you have ALL of the medication, spacers, peak flow meters, nebulizer and tubing kits. Make sure you have enough medication for how long you will be gone. It's better to be safe than sorry......