CF'ers in Houston TX

[Rebjane]

Looking for some info about Houston TX and how things are in the hot humid climate. My daughter is 11 with CF; would be middle school..We are thinking about a relocation which is job related. Lots of questions.

1. are the schools air conditioned?

2. who is a good CF doc at the Baylor CF clinic for CF pediatrics? This is where we would likely transfer to care if we actually move.

3. Are Cf kids allowed to take their own enzymes in school? (we have always done this) as well as use own inhaler.

I have concerns about the heat and humidity.

4. Do you have to take salt tablets? Currently my daughters eats salty pretzels everyday and G2 (in warmer weather) We currently live in a COLD climate.

5. Any special services for CF'ers offered through the state of Texas? We currently have private insurance and will have that as well IF we move.

Thanks!

 

[AggieGeologist]

Rebjane,

I am 28 years old, born and raised in Houston. I also went to public school in one of the suburban school districts.

1. YES! The schools are indeed air conditioned with central air...during the hot months of the year temps can reach 100 degrees with 85 to 100% humidity at times. Even normal people would have trouble in this climate without central air.

2. Dr. Katkin at Texas Childrens Hospital Clinic is who I saw growing up and she is amazing! She kept me very healthy...enough to graduate from Texas A&M and get a great job in the oil industry!

3. Depends on the school...In junior high I had to go to the nurses office after lunch to get my enzymes but all the teachers were understanding about it. In high school, I would just keep them in my purse and sneak them when nobody was looking. Rules may have changed since I was in grade school though. I'm sure you can work something out with the school if need be. Also, don't send your daughter to Houston ISD schools, they are horrible. I would recommend any other school district really.

4. I have never had to take salt tablets. I'm sure the salty pretzels would be just fine. She should watch her outdoor time during the summer months but doing things like swimming or any kind of water play helps with sweating out excessive amounts of salt. Just keep salty snacks near-by at all times in case. I have never had a problem though.

5. I'm not sure what type of special services you are asking about but schools have disability programs that your daughter can enroll in. They aren't embarrassing or anything...nobody really even knows you're in it but it can help your daughter with things like getting an extension on homework if not feeling well enough to do it and things like that. As for state special services, I'm not sure what's available. My parents never allowed me to use my CF for special treatment other than little things like going to the nurse to lay down when I didn't feel well. They were really tough on me.

Hope I answered your questions well enough...good luck on everything and I hope for the best for your daughter!

 

[Rebjane]

Thanks for the great info! I figured the school would be air conditioned. My daughter overall is doing well with her CF so I hate to rock the boat with transfer of care and going to a new school environment, etc.

My daughter with CF is an extremely high achiever (as is my son in high school) and I want to make sure we look at a good school system. We are not sure about this move; it would be a career opportunity for my husband but we need to make sure it will work for us as a family.

My daughter also is involved in sports; ie soccer, softball, cross-country.. How does that work when it is so hot and humid?

For special services; I guess I was wondering about state services that help with cost related to CF care. Right now; we don't qualify for anything in our current state..My guess is we would not qualify in TX either.

 

[AggieGeologist]

I'm so happy to hear that your daughter is doing well and that she is a high achiever...I was as well! I know she will go far in life.

I went to Deer Park ISD but any of the big suburban school districts would be better than Houston ISD. Kingswood, Friendswood, The Woodlands, Katy, and Cy-Fair are all really good school districts as well.

I was on the dance team in high school and we spent a lot of time outside practicing for football halftime shows...it's pretty brutal during the summer and fall but we took regular water breaks and brought snacks with us outside in case someone felt faint. I never really had any more problems than anyone else outside with the heat and humidity but everyone is different. I mean Houston is a hot and humid place but actually the humidity seems to help keep my lungs clearer (or so it seems at least). Schools will sometimes limit the amount of time students spend outside if conditions are bad...at least my schools did.

I think your guess of not qualifying for financial assistant holds true. It seems like it is very difficult to get financial assistant from states. I grew up very poor with a single mom and we didn't even qualify for help....but that was 20 years ago. It may be different now but who knows.

Houston has it's pros and cons. Cons are that it can get really hot and humid and the traffic is bad... Pros is that it has wonderful job opportunities in multiple fields and has a low cost of living compared to the rest of the country. What part of Houston would you move to if your family does decide to come? That makes a big difference in schools and commuting.

 

[Rebjane]

I guess where we would move would depend on our decision suburb vs city. We lived the city life many years ago. Never did the suburbs...Good schools are a priority as well as having a lower cost of living, so perhaps we'ld lean toward the suburbs. We plan to visit the area in a few weeks if our decision is leaning towards moving. Change is hard.

 

[mom2brett]

My son is also 11 and has CF. We live on the west side of Houston in Katy. I grew up here but we moved away shortly after he was born (had not been diagnosed) and then moved back 2 years ago (had been diagnosed for 2 years). He has never had any problems here, in fact I feel that he's doing much better since we moved back. The school is very supportive of him, he does have to go to the nurse to take his medication, but she's great about if he needs extras or keeping snacks and/or gatorade if needed. He does sports (soccer & football) and I make him drink a ton of Gatorade. Never had to deal with salt issues, he loves salt and pretzels are a staple for us. He sees Dr Hiatt at TX Children's, that's where the accredited CF center is here. They have been great, he has a great team of people. He has a lady on his team that is part of Child Life, at TX Childrens, and she talks on his level. She's been great with explaining things to him and working to get him to be more responsible and understanding WHY he needs to take medications. I will say that we think he has a mild case of CF, never hospitalized, but if he skips a breathing treatment we definitely see a difference. The suburbs here are great, they are cities within a city. I don't go into Houston unless I absolutely have to, everything I need is there.