Moving With Asthma: Part II

So, let’s begin where I left off with "The Moving Dilemma," which was about the impact of packing on asthma. Today I’d like to dive into the actual move. If you’ve ever moved to a new home, you know it’s hard enough as it is; but, add asthma into the picture and it’s even harder.

Preparing to move

Day 1: Moving wasn't so hard on my asthma

I picked up a moving truck in the morning. I moved everything I could from upstairs to downstairs and from the basement to upstairs. So, the main floor rooms were rather cluttered.

A thought occurred to me after this job was done: “What if the sellers decide at the last minute not to sell?” Yeah! I decided that would not be good. Thankfully, they didn’t back out, and by 2:30 the closing was done.

I had the keys to our new home. Yay! It felt so nice to say, once again, that I was a homeowner. I felt relieved too, as I didn’t particularly care for renting.

So, under normal circumstances, I would have waited a few days to do the actual move. I figured it would take more than a few hours to get the job done. But, I really wanted to be moved in by Thanksgiving. So, this sort of caused me to rush things.

That evening was dedicated to moving heavy things. My brother came over to help. The evening was relatively uneventful. My asthma did not show it’s ugly face! And that night I slept on a mattress in my new home. Nice!

Moving was hard on my asthma over time

Day 2 and 3

I had to work my day job as a respiratory therapist, so that was a break of sorts. Boy was I sore, though! I had muscle aches in places I didn’t know I even had muscles.

Day 4

This is a testament to how poor of a planner I am. I wasn’t even close to being done. This day I was on my own. I made several trips back and forth using my minivan.

Day 5

Now we’re getting close to a week of moving. My muscles were aching something fierce. I had little energy. And, lo and behold, my asthma started showing it’s ugly face.

Sad to say, I had to move all the boxes stored in the basement and garage on this day. My face got close to those dusty corners in both places. I also had to vacuum and dust the house. Yep! Before day 5 was over, my chest was tight.

So, I stopped.

Giving my body a break

Here’s where it comes in handy to have asthma intelligence followed by asthma common sense. Both of these come from a lifetime of experimenting and learning from all those times I pushed myself and regretted it later. So, I just stopped. I went to my new home.

And this was nice. I set up the TV in the basement and created a nice family room. I slouched back in my recliner. Myles jumped on my lap. Laney pulled up a bean bag and leaned back against my legs. And we watched a Christmas movie. A great way to end the day.

Day 6 and 7

My muscles still ached and my chest was still tight. My energy level was waning. So, I decided to limit my workload for the day. Two loads of stuff and then I quit. Played a game of Life with Myles and Laney. Ended both days 6 and 7 in the family room again. This is quickly turning into my favorite room.

Allowing my asthma to rest

Day 8

Rest. I decided that I was going to force myself to write. This is easy. It’s brain work, but nothing physical. There’s no exposure to asthma triggers here. Tomorrow I work at the hospital, so this will give me a two-day rest from moving. Then I can swoop into the old house to pick up the last few things.

Sure, I could finish today. I could get done. My muscles ache, even in my fingers. Still, I think I could muster the energy to finish the move. But, that chest tightness was still there. This is an early warning sign of asthma for me. I decided not to chance it. I took a Benadryl and rested.

Did you recognize a theme here?

I have a friend who said she moved into her new house in two days. I knew that my asthma wouldn’t let me do that. I prepared big time for this move. I planned to keep my old home two extra weeks after the closing. I really didn’t want to pay the extra $258.90 in rent, but doing this allowed me to pace myself. And this, I think, is so important when you’re moving with asthma.

Also, I recognized the early warning signs of asthma. Chest tightness is one of my most classic early warning signs. I knew once I felt it that it was time to stop. I also had to treat myself with a few puffs of albuterol. I also had my Flyp nebulizer with plenty of albuterol if I needed that. Thankfully, the inhaler was all I needed.

Finally, we made it. We are now settled nicely in our new home. Presently, my kids are playing games in the family room. Me? Well, I’m sitting in my new office. It’s complete with a huge window with a nice view of the neighborhood.