We’ve come so far on this journey and grateful for all of you that have held us up during the trying times. Last night, we experienced my dream of healing without ANY medications. We began to see some red flags, but didn’t panic.
A Quick Recap
Our 6 year old son has been hospitalized 18 times for respiratory distress. Six of those visits escalated to ICU. The first nine visits in nine months were dose after dose of medications and life threatening side effects. Because of his bronchomalacia, the bronchodilators that the doctors insisted on caused the smooth muscle to weaken. Similar to most medications, the quick acting results pleased everyone as it popped open his airway. However, once it wore off, his lungs would collapse. They would defend the medications and their decisions, claiming he was having an asthma attack and just needed more medicine. A Respiratory Therapist in TN was actually the one who helped me, as she said, “If he’s already had 17 doses and still having issues, I’m not giving another!”
Thankful for Doctors that Listen
Since that torturous day in July of 2017 when I told them I forbid any medication, they have been so kind to only use oxygen to pop open his airway. Rather than 6 day visits, we would be in and out in 1 day. The other 9 visits were also spread out over 2 1/2 years. We’ve been experimenting with alternate solutions since.
What’s Our Trick Now
I’ve posted several suggestions, but learning more and more that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has been our most successful approach. My husband and I are on a trip away and our son has always been our one to create elaborate situations to worry about. We just blamed all the hospitalizations, but have also wondered if it’s causation or correlation. Our pulmonologist believes that many breathing issues could be resolved with deep breathing techniques. However, no mother… or father… or even patient can easily “relax and take deep breaths” when their lungs feel tight.
Our son recently made it through an entire cold without distress, which is a victory in itself. We only used the ventilator once and barely relied on our previous treatment plan.
However, last night gave me anxiety. He went into one of his fits where he coughs every few seconds for close to an hour. These are usually what signals all of us that we need to pack up for the hospital.
Rather than starting all our home remedies, I questioned what he was thinking about. He asked, “Are there parachutes on your plane?” Alright, trial time. I asked how he thought he could relieve his anxiety. He answered prayer. As a woman with anxiety, I wish I could say this is successful. Him and I both turn our prayers into ways to verbalize all our illogical thoughts. 🤦♀️
I asked what he learned at therapy. He said to reframe his thoughts and deep breathing. He went through prayer: “God, please don’t allow Daddy and Mommy to die.” Reframing: “Airplanes are very safe and God will protect Daddy and Mommy.” And deep breathing: 5 seconds in the nose, hold for 5, and make a kissing face as he blows out for 5 seconds… 10x. After two rounds of this, his lungs relaxed and the coughing subsided!!!!
My Dream
Guys, I think there is something to this! I also go to therapy and combined our strategies at the airport, as I get travel anxiety and did feel better. How many of our medical issues are related to stress and anxiety? How many of the medications that we take for these exact issues and causing other problems?
As I look back at our journey, I’m grateful for the internet because that’s where I learned everything I needed to confidently make necessary changes, but also see how too much knowledge gave me more anxiety.
What are the chances that someday, when a child comes into ER with respiratory distress that they give the options, “Would you rather us give a quick fix and medicate them or put them on oxygen as an emergency backup to pop their lungs open while they heal naturally?”