THE CHALLENGES OF HAVING A RESPIRATORY CONDITION
By Pepe
Hola there! My name is Pepe and I have asthma. I was diagnosed when I was a tiny, little monkey, and since then I’ve been carrying my inhaler with me everywhere I go. Some kids ask me why I cough or wheeze sometimes, so I have fun explaining to them how my medicine helps me. If you also have a respiratory condition, we are inhaler buddies!
My asthma gets worse when I do a lot of jumping on the trees. But let me be honest with you, I’m really bad at that! I am a little clumsy, you see? I think it was due to my asthma that I couldn’t do a lot of tree and rope climbing when I was little because I would start to have trouble breathing. You know, when we exercise a lot, we need to breath faster, and sometimes that can make us cough and wheeze. Back then I avoided running a lot or climbing trees, so now I am not good at it! But I’m just as happy still trying and practicing, I know I will be really good at it when I grow up!. I also like playing with my friends. Sometimes, I don’t catch up with my other monkey friends, but I still can do everything all the other kids can do!
Being a wheezing monkey has its perks. My friends really care about me and help me when I’m having trouble breathing. They help me use my inhaler and if I’m not feeling too well they find an adult who can take me to see a doctor. The other day I started coughing when I was playing with the branches on a tree. I think I must have closed my eyes when I coughed because I landed right by GeGe’s feet. She helped me up with her trunk and that was a lot of fun. I used my medicine and that made me feel a whole lot better. We all had a good laugh about me falling off the tree that day.
When I have an asthma episode, my friends bring board games so I could rest for a little bit. We like playing indoors when it’s cold outside. My mom makes me wear a lot of sweaters during the winter, and that makes me feel like I’m twice as big as I am now! But staying warm helps me not cough and then I can enjoy more play time with my buddies.
If you also have asthma, or another respiratory condition, remember to bring your medicine with you all the time and follow your doctor’s instructions. He will give you a lot of tips about how to avoid coughing and wheezing and when you don’t feel that great, the medicine will make you all better! Then you’ll be climbing trees like me in no time! Maybe you don’t climb trees, well…. I don’t either!
Keeping you in my heart,
Pepe
PS: Here are some videos that might help you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xC4bDGv9j0">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xC4bDGv9j0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTrkrCDisAM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTrkrCDisAM
NOTE: None of us at Wittle Buddies is an expert in these fields, and our blogs are simply written from the bottom of our hearts. We want to be sensitive to each person who reads us, so if in any way we are failing in doing that, please feel free to contact us so you can help us understand your concerns, thoughts, comments or personal story.
