Goofus and Gallant take their asthma to hunting camp

I'm sure you remember Joe Goofus.  I introduced you to him as the asthmatic that often neglects his asthma with the intent on not missing out on any of life's fun.  His most recent misadventure was last weekend at the Goofus family hunting camp.

And guess what?  He ended up in the emergency room again.  His asthma was so bad he ended up spending 10 days in a hospital bed.  He was pretty bored, I heard, being stuck in a bed while his friends at camp had a blast.

You'll also remember Jake Gallant.  He's that asthmatic -- like you and I -- who does everything right.  He went to camp too, only he followed all the best asthma advice and maintained good control of his asthma.

What follows are 10 things Joe Goofus did wrong to end up in the hospital, followed by what Jake Gallant did right to be able to handle camp:

Joe Goofus quit taking his preventative medicine:  In August his asthma was doing so "awesome" that he decided on his own he no longer needed to take his Advair and Singulair.  What a goofus!

Jake Gallant knows it's never wise to stop taking your asthma preventative meds.  So when he arrived at camp his lungs were well armored and ready to take on just about anything.

Joe Goofus premedicated himself:  That's right!  A few days before camp he decided to put himself back on his Advair and Singulair to get his body ready for the inevitable asthma triggers that are at camp. 

Jake Gallant followed his doctor's orders.  Likewise, he knew that it takes 2-3 weeks for asthma preventative medicine to get into his system, so it's best not to stop taking them even when he's feeling well. 

Joe Goofus forgot his rescue inhaler:  You know it.  His asthma was doing so "awesome" that he didn't bother to take his albuterol inhaler with him.  When the asthma beast hit in the middle of the night he had no relief and he started to panic.

Jake Gallant carried one rescue inhaler in his pocket at all times.  Likewise, he also had a few backups in his suitcase that he knew would be easy to find. 

Joe Goofus hung out with the smokers.  There was a great game of Pinochle in the cabin, only just about every one of the card players had a cigarette or cigar lit.  "Oh, well," Joe said to himself, "I'm sure I can handle it for just one night."  Well, there are enough asthma triggers at hunting camp, the last thing he needed was to breathe in cigarette smoke.  He should have stayed away from the smokers, or requested they not smoke while he was around.

Joe Goofus slept with old, musty, dusty bed linen.  He didn't think to bring his own bed linen, and therefore had to create a makeshift bed in the musty cabin out of bed linens that had been lying around for decades.  The asthma triggers were abounding in them, and by 2 a.m. he woke up with a tight chest and wheezes.