Living with asthma

JUSTISIA SHIPENA
Betty Fortunato



Living with asthma her whole life, Samara Stieg, a year 9 student of ISWB, needs to use a variety of medication in order to keep well and stay out of hospital.

Samara says that factors such as stress can cause heavy attacks, resulting in her going to the hospital. Therefore, she needs to keep calm no matter the environment or condition, in order to prevent any attacks.

When Samara needs to unlock her airways and it is not an attack, she uses her pump. She can also use a nebulizer (a device for producing a fine spray of liquid, use for inhaling medicine) or an epipen.

Samara knows the inside of an ambulance very well, as she has been taken to hospital on numerous occasions. She would be picked up by an ambulance and immediately rushed to the hospital. Samara is required to take medication such as Vennties, Vanair, Pulmicort, Duolin and Rupeenase. All to keep her healthy.

Asthma restricts Samara has to watch what she eats. Food such as eggs, cow’s milk, peanuts, soy, wheat, fish, shrimp and other shellfish can cause an attack. The environments also plays an important role. Some risk environmental factors include air pollution or allergens. Although asthma sounds like a huge demotivating disease, it most definitely does not demotivate Samara. She takes part in almost all of the school’s activities, the most recent one being the spelling bee competition that took place on 27 January.

There are times when she is unable to predict if she will have an asthma attack which makes this disease dangerous. Sometimes her asthma is severe and she cannot give a reason for it.

Even though her condition causes great stress at times, she has the full support of her peers and teachers.

Truly asthma is not her friend, but we are.