What Was My Biggest Asthma Win?
I was recently asked the question: What was my biggest asthma win? I have had this disease for over half a century. I would have to say that there have been many asthma wins for me. But, my biggest asthma win occurred in 1985 when I was 15 years old.
My regular followers know I had asthma pretty bad as a kid. By 1984, my asthma took a turn for the worse. I had many severe asthma attacks that year. My mom kept track. And, according to her records, I was admitted 18 times to the emergency room. My parents and doctors were concerned for my life.
Gaining control of my asthma
Back in the 1980s, regional doctors did not have access to all the best asthma wisdom. There was no internet. There were no asthma guidelines. Thankfully, the doctors who worked at research hospitals had better resources. One such research hospital was the National Jewish Hospital/National Asthma Center (NJH/NAC). My doctors recommended I be admitted to a hospital that specializes in asthma, and NJH/NAC accepted me as a patient.
The doctors in Denver and my doctors at home decided I was severe enough that I should be airlifted via helicopter. But, my parents turned this down because they would have to pay for it. As you might imagine, it was expensive. So, on January 7, 1985, I flew on a United Airlines flight with my mom from my home in Michigan to Denver.
I could tell you many stories about my stay, which lasted 6 months. That’s just what they did back then. In the first few weeks, they admitted me to a regular hospital. They put me on steroids and worked to help me gain good control of my asthma.
From there I was admitted to what was referred to as 7-Goodman. It was a home to many teenagers with asthma just like me. It was more like a home than a hospital. There were nurses, but they wore regular clothes. The only way you could tell they were nurses was because they wore stethoscopes.
I saw a doctor. And the doctor determined what medicines she thought would work best for me. She put me on a regimen of alupent breathing treatments 4 times a day (this was a common rescue medicine at this time). I was prescribed a medicine called theophylline. This I had to take 3 times a day. And of course, there were other medicines. They also put me on a new controller medicine at that time called azmacort. This was your inhaled corticosteroid for that era.
I was also introduced to a new asthma rescue medicine called albuterol. This replaced my alupent inhaler. Albuterol was nice because it had fewer cardiac effects than alupent.
These medicines helped me gain good asthma control. They helped me to breathe easy most of the time. And they made it so when my asthma did act up, it was more easily reversed.
The nurses worked with me to make sure I remembered to take my medicine. They really pounded it into my head about taking my medicine exactly as prescribed. And they pounded it into my head again.
They also educated me about what to do when I experienced early warning symptoms of asthma. I sat in classes with other asthmatic kids my age. We were taught we have symptoms that we experience early on, and if we recognize these, swift actions can prevent a full-fledged asthma attack.
This was the kind of stuff that was new in 1985. It is taught to all people with asthma today. But, back then, you had to go to a specialist hospital to learn it. You can see how much things have improved in just a few decades.
I could write a book
Yes, I could write a novel about my experiences at the asthma hospital. Perhaps I will someday.
Today, 7-Goodman no longer exists, and NJH/NAC has a new name: National Jewish Health. No longer are kids admitted. Instead, they are treated on an outpatient basis. And, rather than kids needing to be sent to such hospitals, regional physicians are educated about the best asthma treatments. Asthma guidelines help regional doctors best manage their asthma patients.
There were good things that happened at the asthma hospital, and there were some not-so-good things. But, the purpose of this post is to write about the good, and the good (other than meeting so many wonderful people) is that they helped me manage my asthma when no one else could. For that I will be forever thankful.
My biggest asthma win was the good folks at this place helping me obtain control of my asthma. And my biggest asthma win was my dad telling me, "You are coming home!" I'm sure you can understand why both were such a big deal to a 15-year-old.
Share your biggest asthma win
What about you? What was your biggest asthma win? Please let us know in the comments below. Also, if you stayed at an asthma hospital when they existed, please share!
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