Asthma Kids

Well after a rough start to our move to Perth with 2 trips to PMH in a week with the kids our little man has settled down nicely. He had a small bout of croup and then asthma before developing all of the horrifying "flu like" symptoms before we darted off to the hospital. Thankfully all was well and we were sent back home with him having an infection in his throat causing the high temps…

But what a scary thought when there are still people dying from what is suspected to be the Influenza A virus. Kids gets loads of fevers which may or may not be realted to the "flu" but it is horrifying to think of how few symptoms these children seemed to have. The major things that we were told at the hospital was that a lot of children had presented with a ‘cold’ but not the ‘flu’ but I commend every parent who sat for hours to find out that their little miracle was going to be OK.

The Sydney Morning Herald printed today; "Influenza makes you unwell, systematically, across your body and makes your muscles ache, makes you feel lethargic, not eat or drink well." and they also stated that it is NOT too late in the season to be receiving the flu vaccine.

I understand the concern and frustration of the medical profession who are being inundated with chilren with colds and worried parents in doctors surgeries and emergency departments across the country but can we please view this from a parent’s perspective. When children who are ill with what seemed not much more than a common cold or flu are dying in less than 24 and sometimes 12 hours. Of course parents are concerned!

No, waiting in an emergency department for hours on end is really not my idea of a good night out (although they are so rare that it might come close these days!) but it would be the one time that you decided not to go that things could turn fatal. We received nothing but confirmation that we had done the right thing and the staff were brilliant at PMH but media comments such as "emergency departments are best left for emergencies" will remain just that in my mind - Media Hype….

There is nothing more important than our children’s health and they are too young to speak out for themselves so we must do it for them. Lets just pray that scientists can get to the bottom of this ‘influenza’ before we have to lose anymore lives to it.

Kylie