Answer these questions with brief, but informative and age appropriate
1. Why
does Grandpa have to breathe so hard?” asks Ben, age 14, whose grandfather has
emphysema.
2. My
uncle has ARDS,” says Simon, age 10. “What does ARDS mean and what is wrong
with him?”
3. “My
cousin’s arm tested positive for tuberculosis, but he does not feel sick and
his x-ray is good,” says Marsh, age 11. “When will he start coughing up blood
like in the movies?”
4. “How
did working in the coal mine make Grandpa have trouble breathing?” asks Jonah,
age 8, whose grandfather has pulmonary fibrosis.
5. Mr.
Rudofski says, “My grandfather was a sand blaster and got pulmonary fibrosis
from years of exposure to silica. My uncle was a rare book librarian and got
pulmonary fibrosis from years of exposure to book mold. They both had pulmonary
fibrosis, with similar symptoms, but the doctors called one condition a
‘pneumoconiosis’ and the other a ‘hypersensitivity pneumonitis.’ Please explain
why.”
