Tyler Sparrow

My Story - Please breathe, and Donate.

My Story - Please breathe, and Donate. 

You can't breathe... One,   Two,   Three,  ... what do you do...? Four,  Five,  Six...  this is the worst feeling that I can imagine. It's terrifying. The stuff of nightmares, that will have you waking up in cold sweats. I have had this feeling myself but this story is not about me. This story is about my daughter, Aurora and her struggles with Asthma and her lungs. 

At birth there were major problems and an emergency C-section. The cause was her umbilical cord, being wrapped around her neck and body 4 times, suffocating her with each contraction... With her heart rate plummeting, the doctors did what they had to and saved our little princess. 

By this time, I knew that we were lucky, but we did not know what we had in store. The first time that Aurora struggled to breathe, she was much too young to know what was happening or to say that she needed help. The wheezing and hacking started and her skin was being sucked in around her neck and ribs. I drove faster than I had ever previously with my daughter in the car, to get her to BC Children's hospital. 

When we arrived at the hospital the nurse took one look and rushed her in immediately. we had done the right thing by bringing her in.

This was our introduction to asthma. 

We were given two different kinds of puffers and Aurora was hooked up to oxygen and constantly monitored over the next three days and slept at two different hospitals. But little Aurora would be okay. 

We have been to the hospital more times than we can count and including a very scary Christmas Day visit. While Aurora always keeps her spirits up and has all the nurses dancing and singing with "the girl with Asthma", she causes a scare every she coughs. It is not always easy to tell whether it is a cold she has picked up or something much more concerning. I have learned to look for the signs and try not to panic before investigating. 

Luckily she took to puffers quickly and knows to tell her parents (and other adults) if she feels like something is wrong at this point. I switched jobs to be more available if anything happens and built a life to make sure that she is always taken care of and never has to be without her breath.

Asthma sure takes up a lot of my thoughts as I go about my days and weeks. More recently, my brother went to the hospital with chest pains to find that he had a collapsed lung. It's a very good thing we have 2 and I'm so thankful he was encouraged to get to that hospital as soon as possible. 

As you think of those closest to you, remember how lucky we are to have our breath, something that is quite possibly the most basic human bodily function, and one that we rarely think about. Let's think about this more. While you have your breath, and appreciate it, please donate so that those that are at times without theirs, will get the help they need. This way, they will be able to live to see more days, and more life, and breath in and out for as long as possible. 

I will be training vigorously for this race, a 42.2 kilometer full marathon, and I will enjoy every breath that I know I am so lucky to take. Thank you for your donation and I appreciate each and every donation, no matter how big or small, you all have a place in my heart (or maybe my lungs)... 

Breathe Easy,