Asthma.  Fortunately I’ve never had it.  I was STUNNED to find out our four year old has “respiratory airway disease” which, to me, is the equivalent of childhood asthma — something she will hopefully outgrow.  At the time my child had at least five belts in karate and NEVER complained she couldn’t breathe.  It was absolutely unnerving.  Then my husband of almost nine years calmly said, “Oh yeah, I had that as a kid but I grew out of it.”  And I just sat in this doctor’s office with my eyes bulging from their sockets trying to digest it all.  I didn’t really know about inhalers and I had certainly had never heard of a nebulizer.  It was like my world had been turned upside down and I was having to learn a foreign language.  HOW could my child POSSIBLY have this when she never said ONE WORD about not being able to breathe??  It was so serious the doctor very nearly told us we could not take our spring vacation!  So I am now acquainted with Nasonex, Singulair, and Zyrtec in addition to the two vials of liquid I mix in her breathing machine twice a day.  When we started off we had a mask that my brave girl just freaked out over.  She never flinched at a blood draw, going under during an endoscopy and colonoscopy, ALL the horrible prep work that goes into that, or having shots.  But I think I can understand this as I am claustrophobic as well.  The “pipe” isn’t supposed to be used until five or older but thank heaven they let her try it and we were able to switch!  Now she falls asleep with it in her mouth.  I have often looked at my little one and wondered what my pipe smoking great grandmother would have thought.  Of course the two are completely disparate.  The great English playwright William Shakespeare said, “Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs.”  With a sigh I pray that she will outgrow this just as my husband, her daddy, did.  In the meantime, at least she has her pipe.