Asthma
Most little boys want to be just like their fathers, and 7-year-old Carson Gossett and his dad, Brandon, share a special bond. Both were diagnosed with asthma at an early age. “My husband has a history of asthma and was treated at Children’s his whole life,” said Carson’s mother, Kimberly Gossett. Despite the family history and some respiratory complications associated with Carson’s birth, asthma was not what the Gossetts suspected when they began searching for the cause of their son’s episodes of repeated vomiting. “He was throwing up anywhere between once and six times a day,” Gossett said. “We had seen the pediatrician and had gastric tests done. We finally saw an asthma and allergy specialist.” That specialist thought Carson’s asthma was severe enough to refer him to pulmonologists at Children’s of Alabama. “Before we got his asthma regulated, he was throwing up all the time,” Gossett said. “It was such a relief to know what it was and Dr. (Teresa) Magruder is just phenomenal.” Gossett said that the Pulmonary Clinic staff has given her the resources to cope with Carson’s asthma. “It’s been a learning experience,” she said. “They’ve helped me understand how it works and what factors to pay attention to. One of my favorite things is the ‘red light, green light’ sheet they give us. It tells us this is what you do if your child is in the yellow zone; this is what you do if he’s in the red zone. It breaks it down in terms everyone can understand. His grandparents have one; his teacher has one and one stays in his backpack.” “If I have questions, I can call them and someone responds immediately,” she added. “They tell me there are no stupid questions and I don’t mind calling because I know they are truly sincere and want the very best for Carson.” Now, Carson’s asthma is controlled with daily medication and quarterly visits to the Pulmonary Clinic. He is an active little boy who plays basketball and soccer and has run in the Kids’ Mercedes Marathon for the past three years. “He participates in just about everything he really wants to,” Gossett said. “He takes daily medicine and he has his inhaler with him. It’s really been a game changer for us.”
