“When I think about my Katy, she’s smiling.”

I’d like to talk to you about my daughter, Katy. Whenever I think about my Katy, she’s smiling.

She had wonderful, supportive friends, who were always by her side. She was the life of soul of our household, and of our community. She was a total ray of sunshine.  

Managing Katy’s asthma was tough. Her asthma attacks were sporadic, severe, and didn’t follow a pattern. Sometimes they were frequent, sometimes Katy wouldn’t have an asthma attack for months. It was extremely difficult for us to predict when the next attack might happen.

One day, everything changed for us. Katy came home from school early, complaining of a headache. While I was out collecting my other children from school, my neighbour called to tell me an ambulance had arrived at our house. I feared the worst.

Even though she was immediately rushed to hospital, my daughter Katy passed away following a sudden, severe asthma attack that afternoon. She was only 12 when she died. I miss her every day. She’s left a huge void in all of our lives.

One person can make a meaningful difference.

Losing Katy is the hardest thing that’s ever happened to our  family. Our lives will never be the same, and we miss her every single day. I just hate to think of anyone else going through what we experienced.  

That’s why I’m so determined to keep campaigning, sharing Katy’s story and speaking up about asthma. I truly believe one person can make a meaningful difference.

If you only take one thing away from my story, I’d like you to think about how you can take action before it’s too late.  

I’d like you to talk to the people around you who might have experience with asthma or might be supporting a loved one who has asthma. I’d like everyone living with asthma to make sure they have regular checks with their GP, and attend their asthma reviews. And I’d like you to consider donating to Asthma + Lung UK, if you’re able to.  

You can help transform and save lives.

Right now, 1.2 million young people in the UK struggle with asthma, every day.  But just one gift could help transform the life of someone living with asthma or a lung condition – someone like Katy.

Your gift supports Asthma + Lung UK’s work, as they offer vital support over our Helpline and fund breathing breakthroughs through research.

Giving to Asthma + Lung UK only takes a few minutes, and your generosity could help ensure that a family like ours doesn’t have to go through everything we went through – and are still going through today.