Conspiring With Our Allergy Doctor

Years ago, our young family of 5 was too crowded in our tiny house. We tried to make do until our elderly neighbors across the street decided to sell their house. It was larger and well cared for, so we decided to buy it; that way, our kids could stay in the neighborhood with their friends and wouldn't have to switch schools.

Making changes to our new home

The interior needed a lot of updating to make it allergy & asthma friendly (I'm looking at you, carpet)! Renovating and updating the inside of the house was our immediate priority. But the landscaping outdoors also needed attention.

Troublesome overgrown shrubs

Our new oversized living room window had several large, overgrown shrubs underneath it. The shrubs were so large that they took up a large portion of the front yard.

Every time I opened the living room windows, all 5 of us would start sneezing. It was like a sneezing chorus, although we were sadly out of tune. All of us - my 3 kids, husband, and I have environmental allergies. My 3 kids and I have asthma, while my son and I have food allergies.

Our family deals with many allergies

I was sure the shrubs underneath the window were full of pollen, which was a big problem for our family. When we bought the house, we were new to allergies and asthma. At the time, only my middle son had undergone allergy testing and was starting allergy shots (immunotherapy). He was newly diagnosed with asthma, and I was still overwhelmed by learning about what was causing his asthma attacks.

We knew from his allergy testing that he was allergic to almost everything. During the allergy skin test, his back was covered in welts. Our allergy doctor explained the different environmental allergies that could cause my son's asthma attacks.

Trying to convince my husband to remove the bushes

After the visit with the doctor, I pulled into the driveway and looked at those ugly and overgrown bushes. If the eye sore wasn't reason enough to get the bushes removed, when friends visited, they always said, "This reminds me of my grandma's house."

Then I noticed that opening the living room window led to a chorus of sneezing. I was determined to yank those awful bushes out. I was sure we were all allergic to them.

I had difficulty convincing my husband to pull out the bushes. We had both been working hard inside the house and were exhausted. I knew pulling them out would be a big job. We would have to cut them down part way, soak the dirt with water, and then put a chain around the stumps to pull them out. My husband was less than enthusiastic about embarking on this additional project.

Getting validation from the allergy doctor

So, when I took my son to another checkup appointment with our allergy doctor, I asked him about the bushes. To prepare for the visit, I cut a small branch off and took it with me. The doctor immediately identified the bush as one of my son's allergens. "Aha!"

Our allergy doctor had a great sense of humor, so I asked him, "Do I have doctors' orders to remove the bushes? My husband doesn't want to tear them out. But if you say we have to..."

He burst out laughing and replied, "No way. I'm not getting in the middle of this!"

I persisted and said, "Well, my son is allergic to the bushes, correct? And it would be better for his allergies, asthma, and overall health if we removed them, right?"

He laughed again and agreed. I smirked and said, "Guess what we'll be doing this weekend!"

And that is how I conspired with our allergy doctor to convince my husband to remove the bushes!