A young mother who died from an asthma attack was frequently advised to “just get on with it,” according to the grieving mother of the young woman.
Amy Greenwood, 22, suffered a sudden and unexpected asthma attack in October 2022, and her fiance discovered her unresponsive and not breathing.
A decision was made to turn off her life support the following day despite attempts at CPR and ventilation.
Amy, who had two young children, was frequently “in and out of the hospital,” according to her mother Joanne, 49.
According to the mother, her daughter’s condition was not stable because she would go from being “completely fine” to “fighting for breath” in a matter of minutes, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Amy lived “in constant fear,” Joanne continued, and despite her best efforts to control her symptoms, she was unable to predict what caused her asthma attacks.
“She lived in constant fear, waiting for the next asthma attack to strike,” the mother said. She tried her best to control her symptoms, but it was impossible to predict what would make her asthma flare up, even though stress, winter bugs, and pollen were all contributors.
“Recently, we wondered if air pollution played a part as her son’s school was only a six-minute walk away but she struggled to walk there, as it was on a busy road with lots of traffic.”
Joanne is now educating people about the dangers of asthma after a recent study by the leading lung charity Asthma + Lung UK revealed that the highest rates of emergency admissions and lung-related deaths occur in communities like Liverpool, Knowsley, and Wirral.
According to the charity, levels of basic care for people with lung conditions are “patchy” and may indicate some health inequalities, despite the tireless efforts of NHS doctors and nurses.
Joanne recalled the terrible day her daughter passed away, saying: “One day last year, in the early hours, I had call from Amy’s partner, Keagan. Following an asthma attack, Amy had collapsed and was taken to the hospital. Despite the best efforts of the doctors, she passed away in the hospital two days later.
“There isn’t any pain comparable to losing your child. Amy’s death has left a gaping hole in our family. I’m determined to keep her memory alive and to raise awareness about how serious asthma is, to prevent other families going through what we have.
“Amy was often told ‘it’s just asthma, you need to get on with it,’ it wasn’t just asthma for Amy, it controlled every aspect of her life.”
The government is being urged by Asthma + Lung UK to give lung diseases top priority in its upcoming Major Conditions Strategy.
According to them, earlier diagnosis of conditions like this is necessary so that treatment can start faster.
The charity is also concerned that some areas lack funding for research as well as essential diagnostic testing.
Currently, in the UK lung conditions are the third biggest killer yet they only receive two per cent of public investment into research.
Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive at Asthma + Lung UK, said: “It’s appalling that people across the North West are struggling to breathe, are being rushed to hospital in an emergency and that so many are dying avoidably from their lung conditions.
“We know that people in more deprived areas are more likely to have worse lung health, often with no choice but to live in poorer quality housing, more polluted areas with higher smoking rates. We need to tackle the lung health lottery head-on.”
