along with him. What a surprise to the kids and
especially Rick. Rick had never had animals in his
house growing up and especially not a horse, so he
wanted to make the most of this opportunity to play
with the horse as much as he could.
Everything about the horse was amazing; its
size, the way it ran across the open field, the color of
its beautiful frame and especially how friendly it was
to all the boys. Rick stared in amazement at this
beautiful creature and thought to himself, “I would sure
love to have a horse of my own, I wonder if my parents
Picture of Rick as a young boy.
would buy me one?”
As time went by, Rick started to notice that
A young boy and his Asthma
his eyes were beginning to itch and starting to get red
and swollen as well. But the most alarming part of all
this was that his chest was beginning to “tighten up”
On a nice sunny June summer day, Rick, a
very adventurous little eight year old boy went out to
and he was having a hard time breathing. Rick had no
idea of what was happening to him, but he knew that he
play with his neighborhood friends. Playing in the
had to get help from someone. His friends noticed that
grass fields above his home in Centerville Utah was
something was happening to Rick, so they took him
where Rick enjoyed spending his summer days. On this
particular day one of his friends had brought a horse
home as fast as their little legs could carry them. Upon
arriving at home, Rick’s parents were startled and
When you have asthma, your immune system
frightened to see the condition that Rick was in and
overreacts to tiny substances in the environment—from
they immediately jumped into the car to take him to
pollen to dust mites—and treats these usually harmless
the emergency room.
materials as deadly invaders. This triggers a full-scale
Rick was immediately rushed into the
alarm in your respiratory system. (Know your
emergency room as Doctors began to help Rick start to
feel better. The Doctors began to analyze and ask Rick
questions as to what was happening with him, but the
Doctors knew by the symptoms what was happening to
Rick. . . it was an asthma attack!
The word asthma comes from the ancient Greek
for “panting,” but that tells only part of the story. No
doubt it would
have been unwieldy to also throw in the words for
wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing, and tightness of
the chest—the most common asthma symptoms.
Exactly what causes this disease is unclear, but
genetics, allergies, and environmental factors play key
roles. (Know your options, page 40).
Picture of Rick as a young boy.
options, pg 40).
After the doctors got the allergic reaction to
Everywhere we go, my dad (Rick), always
settle down, the doctors explained all the vital
makes sure that he has an inhaler with him. Asthma is
information of dealing with asthma to Rick and wrote
something that he has learned to control and deal with,
him a prescription for an inhaler. The doctors said to
but it has not changed the way he lives his life. He just
Rick, “Don’t go playing around with animals
has to make sure that he’s not around animals for very
anymore, because that is what triggered your allergic
long or overexerts himself while exercising.
reaction!” This was a gut-wrenching blow to Rick,
because he loved
something that
playing with the
should be taken very
horse that day, but
seriously, but it
Rick knew that he
should not keep you
never wanted to feel
out of the “game of
like he was going to
life.”
die ever again!
That young
boy is now 49 years old and has
used an inhaler every single day
of his life. That young boy that
this profile paper is about is my
dad.
Asthma is
Asthma is a disease in which
inflammation of the airways causes
airflow into and out of the lungs to be
restricted. When an asthma attack
occurs, mucus production is increased,
muscles of the bronchial tree become
tight, and the lining of the air passages
swells, reducing airflow and producing
the characteristic wheezing sound.
Reader’s Digest. Know your options: the
definitive guide to choosing the best
medical treatments. New York:
Reader’s Digest Association, 2005.
The New York Times. Health Guide. 2009.
24 Nov. 2009.
<http://health.nytimes.com/health/
guides/disease/asthma/quick-reliefmedications.html>.
Works Cited