About
About Me
I’m Amy Anaruk, a freelance health and environmental writer with two elementary-age daughters, one with the lung disorder that takes and just keeps on taking. Raising a child with persistent asthma has determined the course of my life, whether directly or indirectly, for the past 10 years. Both are the subject of this blog.
Bits of our story are sprinkled throughout Asthma Mom posts, but here’s the short version:
I had an unplanned pregnancy at age 22, one month out of college, and that child was later diagnosed with asthma at age two. Her health was so poor for so long that the two years I meant to stay home with her and her younger sister stretched into - well - a lot more years. So I started freelancing, and I started this blog. Right now I work online, but I used to be in public relations and development.
You can subscribe to my feed here or follow me on Twitter here. Asthma Mom is syndicated here:
Reuters
Livestrong
The Sun-Times News Group
Austin American-Statesman.
About My Daughter
She’s 10 and has moderate persistent asthma, meaning that without her maintenance plan she would flare every day, probably several times a day. Luckily, she responds very, very well to inhaled corticosteroids, and life is relatively normal.
It wasn’t always. She spent the first 5.5 years of her life flaring severely and frequenting the ER. I didn’t attain full control of her asthma until after her fifth birthday, and then the digestive issues started. Doctors couldn’t resolve those for awhile, either, all of which probably explains my continued inability to sleep well at night.
Other, more experienced asthma parents helped educate me about asthma through message boards and websites, and I maintain this blog as a way to keep passing that knowledge along. Also, I’m a sucker for self-imposed deadlines and extra work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are you a doctor or nurse?
No, I have a B.A. in English but no medical degree or certification. I don’t dispense medical advice on Asthma Mom. Instead, I discuss my own daughter’s symptoms, flares, and treatments. Plus, I cover asthma and air quality news, research, and developments.
Do you do anything else for asthma?
I was a team leader for the American Lung Association’s Asthma Walk fundraiser for two years (though not the last two).
Previously, I used to volunteer as the asthma editor at BellaOnline.com, but since I have time for only one time-consuming, unpaid writing gig, I figured it might as well be my own site.
Do you write this blog for a living?
No, Asthma Mom is a pet project.
Are you open to advertising?
Yes, although if you’re marketing anything that uses words like *asthma cure,* *guaranteed to eliminate flares,* or *stop using your inhaler within WEEKS,* I wouldn’t bother contacting me if I were you. I also review stuff.
How do I contact you?
Here.
Why do you maintain this blog if you’re not making any money off it?
Partly because my daughter’s struggle with asthma when she was younger made me sort of question my sanity, if by *sort of* you mean *all the damn time.*
Partly because if I keep talking about bronchospasms, inhalers, and nasal washes to my friends and family all the time the way I used to, they’re going to start hating me.
Partly because back when my daughter struggled to breathe on a daily basis, I don’t feel like I got much help from some of her doctors. The CDC’s current asthma statistics are for 2005, and in that year 6.5 million U.S. children had asthma.
That’s 8.9%.
With so many children–and their parents–fighting and living with this disease, I support all efforts to increase awareness and knowledge. The more resources out there, the easier they are for parents to find.
Hello, Don’t know how I missed your blog for so long, but I m glad I found. Great stuff! I’ll be back often.
I wish more people would blog about what it’s like to live with severe asthma ( or someone who has it).
Cheers!
Hi there, and thanks for stopping by.
My daughter’s asthma is actually not as severe as it used to be, thank God, but it’s still a struggle. You’re right, though–blogging sure helps.
I stumbled on your blog via Stephen’s.
I think asthma does teach a lot about yourself in the long run, but as you said, boy is a struggle.
Brittney
Yes, I’d like to keep everything I’ve learned but lose my kid’s asthma, please.
Thanks for stopping by.
Love your site; it’s nice to be entertained while learning.
Keep up the good work.
Hi Amy,
I just wanted you to know that I have created a green bloggers forum on which you can post a description of your blog and a link to your site. No reciprocal link to my site is required . . . just want to spread the word about good green blogs and have people take a look at my site. Go to http://www.webuyitgreen.com, select the green forum button, register for the forum, select the Nonprofits Resources and Discussions forum, then select the Green Blogs subforum, and post your thread.
Jay
Hey, is there a section just for latest news
Hey Amy!
I like this part of the reason why you started this blog: “Partly because if I keep talking about bronchospasms, inhalers, and nasal washes to my friends and family all the time the way I used to, they’re going to start hating me.”
I like it because that’s why I started my asthma blog, too. I talk about my asthma far less in in-person situations than I did before I started my blog. Now I have somewhere to talk about it, and have a suitable audience to respond to my rants, questions and triumphs. (This is awesome, seeing as my friends likely had no idea what I was talking about–especially when I was in the balance going from Ventolin alone to Ventolin and FloVent, and even now when I mention asthma stuff.)
I’m also glad you started this blog–it gives me one stop to find all kinds of new information. Thanks!
[…] About […]
Kerri–did you notice your friends’ and family’s eyes start to glaze over in boredom, too? Blogging does make a huge difference to me–there’s just no way to understand the impact of asthma unless you’re dealing with it all the time, is there?
Definitely, most people don’t really get the impact of asthma. You’ve probably gone through explaining to countless people the difference between controller and reliever meds–I find a lot of people don’t see beyond the blue Ventolin puffer!
Actually, even though I have (at least) five friends with asthma, theirs is all very, very intermittent (most of them don’t even carry puffers with them, while I go CRAZY if I forget mine at home!). I have ONE friend with asthma who is also on maintenance medication, and to my knowledge, her asthma affects her nowhere near as much as mine affects me!
For mild persistent asthma, mine’s giving me a good fight in getting controlled! Which is why I love getting feedback through the blog–as asthma is, as you put it, “the disease that takes and keeps on taking”, we asthmatics and asthma patients “fight and keep on fighting”!
(Haha, sorry I didn’t find this till now! My blog informed me I had a link over from here!)