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My Dad died as the result of an asthma attack.
I was only 10 at the time.
He was at a restaurant with his family when the attack came on. He didn’t have his reliever on him and he was taken to hospital in an ambulance. That was his last half hour.
But the hospital told us that even if Dad had his puffer, it actually wouldn’t have made too much difference.
You think people don’t die from asthma. But they do.
I’ll never forget the day Dad died
My Dad died at dinner time around seven, eight. And I remember my Mum crying and saying, “Your dad just had an asthma attack and he’s gone to hospital.”
At 10 years old, in my mind, no one dies of asthma. I thought it was all fine. So I just went to bed and I didn’t think about it at all, really…When I woke up and my Auntie was in our lounge room, I thought it was pretty odd because there was no reason for her to be there. And that’s when my Mum said Dad didn’t make it.
I miss having Dad around
My Dad was a really caring person and it meant a lot to him to be a dad. He did everything in his power to spend as much time with my sister Grace and I when we were younger. As his children, we were his main hobby.
Since my Dad died, I’ve missed out on a lot of Dad time; a lot of moments where you’d want a male influence in your life and I didn’t necessarily have one. So I had to sort of think through a lot of things myself, when a bit of guidance would’ve been lovely to have.
I’m 23 now, and I’m trying to get into medical school so I can become a doctor. I’ve always wanted to find a job where I can help people and I thought that was the perfect union of the two things.
No one realises that asthma can kill you
When I tell people how my dad passed away, they’re shocked that asthma can kill you.
To many people, asthma is just something that, “Oh, you get shortness of breath. Sometimes you can’t run. It doesn’t kill you”. People are shocked to find out that it can and does – about 400 Australians a year.
My dad should have gotten better preventative care. Who knows what that may have done for him?
I don’t want other children to lose a parent – or their own lives – when death could be avoided with better asthma management, education and research.
Please donate now to asthma research and education to help stop asthma killing people you love.
We would like to thank Harry for his generous support fundraising for Asthma Australia and for sharing his Dad’s story as a part of the Asthma Champion Program. Thank you for being a voice for people with asthma.
Do you have a story to tell? Become an Asthma Champion.