Michelle Bedell has 4 children, all diagnosed with asthma during childhood. She was diagnosed as an adult with Allergy and Illness Induced Asthma. 5 people with asthma in one family adds up to a lot of inhalers.
The three boys have very mild asthma and need to use inhalers for exercise and when already sick. Her daughter Addyson has been the child with the most issues from her asthma. She was hospitalized with pneumonia twice before her first birthday. She now has a daily regime of allergy medication and inhalers that maintain her breathing with only the occasional asthma attack. Michelle also has an almost yearly bout of pneumonia that interferes with her ability to work and be a mother.
Asthma can be a difficult disease to explain. Others cannot see the struggle to breathe or feel the loss of energy that comes from lowered oxygen levels. Michelle is grateful for the advance in medications in the last 20 years that help her, and more importantly, her children to have better ability to breathe.
