Kicking asthma away

“I named him Varun”. Even his father, wanted him to be as swift as the wind. But when he was just a few months old, something happened that really caught us unawares.

Varun started having trouble with his breathing. We went to various doctors. Constant medication and injections were now a part of our lives. Sleepless night, after sleepless night continued, for years.

He was so young, and delicate. I was really scared. Questions like how, where, when, were meaningless now. But he didn’t give up. He took up Taekwondo. I also encouraged him and made sure he never felt that there was something wrong with him.

One day, Varun came home completely distraught. He was 8. And had reached the Taekwondo finals. An achievement that meant the world to him. He tearfully told me how he got knocked out, because he found it difficult to breathe.

I spoke to his father. We decided that we will find the best care in the world to make sure we give Varun a normal life. We took him to a specialist who told us that Varun had asthma.

We didn’t know what to do. Everyone around us wondered how Varun had a problem that only grown-ups faced. And we couldn’t even think about inhalers. After all, we had a lot of questions about it, and spoke to our loved ones and neighbours to try and find a solution. No matter where we turned, we only got one response – Inhalers stunt children’s growth. Varun won’t grow up normally.

We were absolutely distraught. We panicked and went to the doctor to see if there was any alternate treatment for treating Varun’s asthma. But the doctor told us that there was nothing to worry about. We started inhalers and medication. And slowly but surely, we started seeing results.

Varun kept working at becoming better and better at Taekwondo. The inhaler therapy and his healthy habits supported him at every step and didn’t let the Asthma stop him.

Today, nobody can believe Varun is an asthmatic; and he wears his multiple medals with pride.