How the recent poor air quality affected our rare disease family
Canadian wildfire smoke poses health issues for a boy with Pompe disease
Like much of the East Coast, we’ve been experiencing poor air quality here in Pennsylvania due to smoke from Canadian wildfires. In my 21 years, I don’t think I can remember a time when our air quality was this bad.
Fortunately, we’re in the south-central part of Pennsylvania, so we didn’t get hit as hard as places like New York. Still, our air quality index was in the 400s, which indicates hazardous conditions, and we experienced some negative effects from all of the smoke.
I tried my best to remain indoors as advised, but I still had to go outside to take out the trash, check the mail, and run to the pharmacy to pick up medication for my children. Even with minimal time outside, I was experiencing headaches that lasted hours, irritated eyes, and sneezing.
Thankfully, my symptoms weren’t too horrible. But my 5-year-old son, Cayden, had it a bit worse. Due to his infantile-onset Pompe disease, his lungs aren’t very strong. And to top it all off, he was still recovering from a virus that landed him in the hospital for two days. In his very short time outside, he experienced headaches like I did, but he also had some trouble breathing.
It was nothing too crazy, but he had to use his inhaler and complete a few other breathing treatments. I was shocked to see what just a few minutes outside did to him. For his protection, I kept him indoors, but he’s too young to understand why.
Cayden kept begging me to go outside and play. With the weather warming up, he’s been loving all our time outside. He wasn’t happy that we had to stay indoors for a few days. Plus, the smoke hit just days after he got new bubbles and a styrofoam airplane to fly. I promised him that we could play outside again in a few days, but that doesn’t sit right with a 5-year-old.
Cayden, right, and his uncle LJ show off a new styrofoam airplane. (Photo by Keara Engle)
I’m hoping that this is the last of our poor air quality days because it’s been pretty boring. It reminds me of remaining indoors during COVID-19 lockdowns. I know how bored I was, so I can’t imagine what it’s like for a young child.
Keeping Cayden indoors was the best decision, though. I’d hate to see him get really sick from being outside unnecessarily.
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