We've always been pretty pollution conscious, but as of late we've doubled our efforts to limit exposure. Two Saturdays ago, we had a really nice warm day but the air was bad. We would normally wear masks with the level of pollution there was, but we were so determined to go and enjoy the warmth outside that we left them home. We were outside for far too long in the bad air and that night, Will woke up around midnight and couldn't breathe. The pollution had irritated his throat so much that his airways had swollen and he literally had to gasp for air. It was truly terrifying. Joel and I turned on the hot water in the shower and sat with our crying, gasping and wheezing toddler in the steam reading him books to try and help him to calm down. My wonderful mother had the foresight to give me an Albuterol inhaler to bring back even though I don't have asthma. I didn't even know if it was okay for a toddler to use it, but Joel and I gave him two puffs on it anyway. Almost immediately, his breathing eased and I've never felt so relieved! We moved his crib into our room so that we'd be able to hear if he had breathing problems again, and sure enough, at 6:00 am that morning, he was wheezing and gasping again. More steam and two more inhaler puffs later, he could breathe again. At the doctor visit on Monday, she told me that having that inhaler on hand had very likely saved us a trip to the emergency room. She also said that little children can be very susceptible to the irritants that are present in pollution, especially during cold season, when even a runny nose can cause a child to be hypersensitive and have a severe reaction like Will did.
Looking back, it wasn't just the fact that Will was having a hard time breathing that was so scary. I didn't even know where the nearest international hospital to our apartment was, and even if I had, we don't have a car and so we would've had to go and try to find a taxi in the middle of the night and try to explain in our very limited Chinese where we needed to go. My mom and pediatrician were 6,000 miles away and I didn't know who to contact to ask for help or advice. We felt very alone and isolated.
To top off that exciting incident, the doctor that we went to prescribed a bronchodilater for Will to help keep his airways open. When I went home and looked up the medicine just out of curiosity, I read that it's not FDA approved for human use and that in the US, it can't even be used on animals that are going to be consumed by humans because it can have really major side effects even in small doses. So.... I didn't give it to him.
In other happenings, we have been trying to plan out what next year might have in store for us. We have been debating back and forth about whether to move home this summer or to stay here one more year. In the end, we've decided that we feel really good about staying here for one more year and we want to save a little more money before we move back and then Joel will apply to the grad program he's had his eye on at the University of Utah for the fall 2015 semester. But we are still waiting to hear from the Joel's job about whether or not they will renew Joel's contract for one more year. If they want him to stay, then that's great and we will happily live here for one more year. But, if they decide not to offer him another year, then we will go home and try to figure out what do for a year until Joel starts school.
Trying to plan for the future can be stressful when most of it is out of your hands!
Even though we don't know for certain whether we are returning, I just purchased round trip tickets home for July 6th - August 24th. It was a sad day for the bank account because we had to buy Will a real ticket instead of a lap ticket since he will be two years old, but I am SOOO looking forward to him having his very own seat.
Here are some of my favorite random Shegrud family photos from the past month:
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| Holding tight on the subway! |
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| On our way to see Elder Holland speak at our church. |
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| Chicken foot anyone? |
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| It takes a lot of talent to tie down a load like this.... |
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| The ultimate Smart Car |
