Lucy

Poor little Lucy was diagnosed with severe asthma today. She has had a persistent bad cough for months, as well as numerous chest infections which didn't clear despite several courses of antibiotics. She has also had several scary episodes where she couldn't breathe, and had developed a noisy wheeze :(

It came as a bit of a shock, as nobody on either side of the family has asthma. However, the doctor explained that Lucy's medical history was very typical of an asthma sufferer: she was ill twice with bronchiolitis before she was one year old, and has had bad eczema since she was born.

She has two types of inhaler to use, a nebuliser and a chamber mask. In typical Lucy style, she describes the asthma as a bumble bee who lives in her chest and needs to fly out through the 'elephant mask'. Love you so much little one...

Here are Lucy and Izzy, wrapped up well in the cold sunshine, hiding pieces of bread in the garden for the birds.