My three-year-old daughter saved my life during an asthma attack
Kayleigh from West Sussex was having an asthma attack when her three-year-old daughter Imogen stepped in to save her mum’s life. Read more about how little Imogen bravely guided the ambulance crew to their home.
How it all began
I was diagnosed with asthma when I was five and worked hard to manage the condition. But I was recently diagnosed with severe asthma, which is much harder to control and can suddenly worsen. This left me hyper-aware of my condition and fearful of an attack.
My fear became a reality a few weeks ago when I was playing in the garden with my three-year-old daughter Imogen and smelt smoke from a neighbour’s bonfire. Smoke is a trigger for my asthma, so we immediately went inside. However, a couple of hours later I felt my chest begin to tighten. I used my reliever inhaler and looked at my asthma action plan for guidance on what to do but after 15 minutes there was no improvement. All of a sudden it felt like I had a load of bricks on my chest, I couldn’t breathe. I tried my inhaler again, but it had no effect. I couldn’t breathe in or out, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t do anything. It was horrific.
Imogen could see I was struggling and said, ‘mummy you need to call the number’ - she meant 999. I pressed the numbers and got through to the emergency services, but I was too breathless to talk to the operator. Imogen stepped in saying “ ‘Mummy can’t breathe, you need to help her.’ I thought this was it, I thought I was going to die but Imogen calmly spoke to the operator describing our where our house was and the colour of our front door. When the paramedics arrived, I was immediately rushed to hospital where I spent five days.
Reflecting on the event
My condition’s unpredictable and I was worried about going out with Imogen, but now that she’s knows what to do, I’m less anxious. Since the attack I have called on other parents with asthma to prepare their families for the reality of an attack and arm them with the skills they’ll need to be able to help. I’ve shown Imogen the Asthma UK website so she can learn more about asthma, as she has it as well. I’ve directed friends and family to the site to help them understand just how dangerous an asthma attack can be and what they should do. I am so proud of Imogen. I would tell any other parent with asthma how important it is to teach your child what to do if you have an asthma attack. My clever little girl saved my life that day.
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