Asthma

            I remember the dreaded day when I was sitting in a hospital in Florida, scared and confused. I was eleven years old at the time and I knew that my Mother was not in the best condition. I was at an age where I knew what was going on, but I was not quite sure why it was happening. What I did know at the time was that my mother had suffered an extremely damaging asthma attack. She had asthma for as long as I could remember, so I did know what asthma was, but nothing more. I did not know that it could get as harsh as it did with my mother. I was only a boy at this time so nobody would tell me anything because they thought I would not understand or be able to handle it. It was perfectly fine for them not to tell me because they were probably correct. As children, we are very shallow in our beliefs. I would have probably blamed the whole situation on myself. The intense asthma attack she suffered left her in a coma, motionless and emotionless. I, on the other hand, was full of resentment and fear. The next morning was especially rough because all of my emotions were swirling around in my head at the same time. I kept asking myself, "Why did this happen to me?" The only thing I could do for myself was to simply try to forget about the whole situation. That day, I boarded the plane back to North Carolina to live with my father. During the plane ride, I had learned that my mother had just passed on. For many years after my mother's death, I still questioned why all of this happened but I never took the initiative to find out on my own. I finally took the opportunity to find out about asthma for this research project. Because of this experience in my life, I have decided to ask the following questions to aid me in my search for the answers: What causes asthma and what are its symptoms?, What treatments are available for asthma and how effective are they?, and What happens in the lungs when someone has an asthma attack? .