why i'm blogging.

Ethan contracted RSV when he was around five months old. I remember the day he was diagnosed as I sat sobbing in the doctor's office exam room. I remember that day because fifteen other children had also been diagnosed that morning. As a first-time parent, I hadn't heard of RSV before that day, but as my child developed lasting respiratory issues because of it, I learned how common it really is. Each winter season, 50% of infants and young children are diagnosed with RSV annually. In older children or children born full-term, sometimes this is simply masked in a very bad cold. For others who are younger or born at 36 weeks like Ethan was, this can become more serious. While it took a good month before the RSV virus finally left Ethan's little body, it gave him a gift of respiratory issues that at two, still haven't fully left. While when Ethan runs around too much and has trouble with his breathing we just give him a treatment and send him on his way, so many others aren't so lucky. Not even going into the asthma statistics yet, I should point out that RSV alone claims 2,500 lives per year.

2,500 deaths from this virus! Most of which are preventable with proper treatment. 2,500 deaths that could be prevented. Think about it.

And that's why I'm blogging -- because while I spent months counting my misfortunes and sobbing out of second-hand pain for the struggles Ethan had to go through, I realized that we were FORTUNATE. We had in-home treatment. We had a nebulizer in our living room whenever he needed one. We never had to worry that Ethan's life was in jeopardy due to an inability to treat his respiratory issues properly. For so many others, this is the sad reality. They must carry their children for miles -- days, even -- as they gasp for breath and hope they make it long enough to find a shared community nebulizer if one is even available. This needs to change. This MUST change. It is my dream that one day RSV won't claim any lives and everyone, regardless of their financial background and situation, will have access to the same treatment.

I'm so proud to stand behind Global Links and their Nebulizer Campaign as they work hard to ensure that one day everyone will have access to nebulizers, and I'm so proud to be participating in this Blogathon another year in a row!