Manage your asthma so you can live your life

2 May 2012

“Manage your asthma so you can live your life, not let asthma rule your life”

Missing her recent swimming sports and Walkathon are just two of the downsides of having severe asthma and allergies for Aalyana Losefa. And while Aalyana does get disappointed when she misses out, she understands that being well is most important.

Aalyana is one of the nearly 300,000 children in New Zealand with asthma. “Aalyana has never known anything different, she’s always had severe asthma and very bad allergies,” says her mum, Alesha.

Aalyana’s been a regular visitor to Starship hospital since she was born. She received her first dose of prednisone, a steroid used in severe episodes of asthma, when she was just 3 months old.

She has already missed about one third of the first term of school this year due to hospital admissions. It’s important to Aalyana to do well at school. Alesha takes school work to Aalyana in hospital and she also attends the Starship School while she’s in hospital to ensure she doesn’t miss out.

The mature way she manages her condition and her amazing attitude to life despite her everyday challenges are what made Aalyana one of the 2009 Supreme Achievers at the Asthma Foundation’s Achievers Awards. The Foundation were so impressed with her that they asked her to return to speak at the 2011 Achievers Awards at Government House in Wellington.

Asthma Awareness Week is this week and the Asthma Foundation wants New Zealanders to know what it’s like for children and their parents when they are hospitalised by asthma.

“We want to tell New Zealand about what asthma does to people when it turns ugly. Seeing your child hospitalised because they are unable to breathe is a terrifying experience, both for the child and the parents,” says Angela Francis, the Chief Executive of the Asthma Foundation.

Our children with asthma have 550,000 days off school every year. In 2010/11 46 percent of the admissions to hospital for asthma were for children. These figures are too high, we want all New Zealanders to join together to “keep our kids out of hospital!”

What does having asthma mean for Aalyana and her family?

“As a family, we need to be aware of all the small things that trigger Aalyana’s asthma and plan accordingly. For example, Aalyana is unable to be home if the lawns are being mowed. These things are learnt and take time”, says Alesha.

Having an excellent relationship with their GP and school means that Alesha is comfortable that Aalyana is being looked after while she is away from home. We have an effective action plan that the school follows if there is an attack at school. Alesha reports that “everyone has a clear understanding of what needs to be done if Aalyana’s condition worsens and this gives me confidence that the right things will be done”.

“Being a 10 year old girl, Aalyana is always keen to give things a try, and I love the fact she participates as much as she can. She has a good understanding of how far she can push herself and as she has lived with this all her life, she knows her limits”.

When asked how she encourages Aalyana to lead a full and normal life, Alesha says “figuring out what their triggers are and, rather than preventing them doing something, work with your school and health team to find a way to do it that works. Even though it can be hard, you need to support them. As Aalyana says, “it’s important to manage your asthma so that you can live your life, not let asthma rule your life”.

We ask New Zealanders to get behind us in our fight against asthma. They can visit our website at www.asthmafoundation.org.nz.

Asthma Awareness Week is 30 April until 6 May with Balloon Day on Friday 4 May. In addition to its message that ‘1 in 4 children struggles to blow up a balloon. Asthma won’t let them’, the Asthma Foundation is asking New Zealanders to join them to ‘keep our kids out of hospital!’

1. About 1 in 4 New Zealand children has asthma and 1 in 6 adults.
2. New Zealand has the second highest rate of asthma in the world, following the UK.
3. About 800 000 New Zealanders are affected by asthma and other respiratory conditions.
4. It is estimated that 550,000 school days are lost each year due to asthma.

About the Asthma Foundation

The Asthma Foundation is New Zealand’s notfor-profit sector authority on asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

We advocate to government and raise awareness of respiratory illnesses, fund research for better treatments and educate on best practice. We provide resources on our website and support our 17 affiliated Asthma Societies in providing education, support and advice. www.asthmafoundation.org.nz

ENDS

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