The Chicago Reporter articles from September 2004

The Chicago Reporter archives from September 2004

Editor's note.(state of the child Health)(Editorial)
September 1, 2004... A cough that wouldn't go away had turned into an emergency-room visit for the 1-year-old girl, a relative's baby. A few inhaler treatments seemed to clear it up, though the doctors never did really explain what the problem was. An Internet...

Waiting to inhale: among city and suburban children, asthma rates are through the roof, especially in black neighborhoods. But officials aren't doing much to help families cope with the disease.
September 1, 2004... Chicago is so commonly called an epicenter of the nation's asthma epidemic that it's become a cliche. The area's public health departments all know this. Most of them just aren't doing much about it. An investigation by The Chicago...

Going mobile: when it comes to asthma, a van picks up where the government leaves off.
September 1, 2004... Twelve-year-old Hiram Moss is in the back of the Mobile C.A.R.E. Foundation's Asthma Van one morning, insisting to several skeptics that he has been taking his medication. Glancing at the screen of a laptop computer, nurse Becky Blase...

Armed for attacks: with a little self-education and a lot of time and effort, proactive parents can minimize asthma's effects.(Asthma Attacks)
September 1, 2004... Child asthma is manageable--as long as the children who have it, and their parents, sit down with doctors to learn everything they can about the disease, map out treatment plans and carefully monitor how they're doing. It's worked that way...

Fright nights: emergency-room visits alone aren't enough to ease asthma, but they're the only option for many families.
September 1, 2004... Regina Green used to spend nights hoping her son Myron would stop coughing. In 1998, Myron entered his first winter with what seemed like a cold that wouldn't go away. "He would get to the point where he would cough and cough and cough and...

Left out: Chicago's still struggling to fix the homes of lead-poisoned children, while other communities get the job done.
September 1, 2004... In many Illinois towns and suburbs, the discovery of a child with lead poisoning means a swift response and plenty of help with cleaning up hazards. In Chicago, though the inspectors usually come quickly, getting government money to clean...

Parent trap: poor families know lead hurts their children. They just don't get the help--or the response from landlords--they need to do much about it.(Lead Zone)
September 1, 2004... Driving up to the apartment, Chicago lead inspector Delfin Diaz can tell the building is in poor condition. He points out the Irving Park neighborhood is gentrifying, and many of the other homes are spilled up and have new windows. But the...

Put off: middle-class children often don't get tested for lead, despite the damage it can do.(Lead Zone)
September 1, 2004... In Hilary Godwin's large office at Northwestern University's Technical Building, pictures of her round toddler lean against science text books. A spunky looking woman with curly hair and blue eyes, she tries to explain in everyday English her...

Parting shot.
September 1, 2004... September 9, 2004 Mira MacLeod, 2, of west suburban Naperville, enjoys a sunny afternoon at the Millenium Park's Crown Fountain.