From Tragedy to Triumph: How a 12-Year-Old’s Asthma Attack Sparked Legal Reform
Asthma is a condition that affects more than 25 million Americans annually, including over 3 million children.
For most asthma patients, inhalers are a lifeline and a certainty when they feel an attack coming on. If they don’t have an inhaler with them, something serious could go wrong.
Asthma is so common that we often forget that it can have fatal consequences when the patient does not have their inhaler at that moment. The stress can even make the symptoms of an attack worse.
Repeatedly warned
Ryan Gibbons was 12 years old when he suffered an asthma attack at school. His parents had given him an inhaler to take to school in case he had an attack.
At the moment when Ryan needed his inhaler the most, he was not allowed to use it by the school administration. Ryan passed away after the attack, at his school in Ontario, Canada.
“We gave him an inhaler, but when they caught him with it, it was taken away,” his shocked mother Sandra Gibbons told CBC News Canada.
“Then I got a call. That was very frustrating. I didn’t understand why. I didn’t realize the police had reported the prescribed medication had to be in the school office.”
Ryan was playing soccer with some friends when he had the attack. He didn’t have access to his inhaler because it was locked in the principal’s office.
After Ryan’s death, his devastated mother launched a campaign against the government for a change in the law.
Three years later, she succeeded and Ryan’s Law was passed. This law now makes it illegal for schools to prohibit asthma inhalers for children, according to CBC News.
The president of the Canadian Asthma Association says he has had asthma attacks himself and knows how stressful it can be when you don’t have an inhaler on hand.
“Not only do you have a lot of problems with your lungs, but the stress of not having an inhaler can make you feel even worse,” he added.
Please share this article if you want to warn others that it is crucial for children with asthma to have access to their medication. No one should have to go through something like this.
