Asthma is a common chronic condition affecting children across North America. While asthma attacks can happen at any moment, many students’ most common site of attack is while they are at school. After all, they spend 6 hours a day there, 5 days per week. Though some schools permit students to carry their own inhalers for immediate use in case of emergencies, many do not. In fact, many students’ inhalers are locked away in an office with the other students’ medications, making access to it difficult in the event of an emergency. The passing of “Ryan’s Law” in Ontario, Canada, marks a significant milestone towards providing a safer environment for students with asthma in schools. The law is named after 12-year-old Ryan Gibbons, who tragically passed away due to a severe asthma attack during recess. This law aims to ensure that asthmatic children are allowed to carry their inhalers with them at all times. The passing of Ryan’s Law has prompted discussion across much of North America as to whether or not laws surrounding inhalers at school need to change.
Asthma Inhalers in School: Ryan’s Tragic Story
When you send your child to school, you trust that the adults in that building will keep your child safe. This is especially if you have a child who has a medical condition, such as allergies or asthma. This is what 12-year-old Ryan Gibbons’ mom, Sandra, thought of sending her son to school each day. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Ryan Gibbons tragically lost his life on October 9, 2012, during a severe asthma attack that occurred while he was at school in Straffordville, Ontario. Sandra explained that his friends carried Ryan into the school and tried to get his inhaler, which was stored in the principal’s office, but they couldn’t get into the locked office in time. Ryan blacked out and passed away shortly after.
“So as he was going to the office to get his inhaler, he kind of was having a hard time and had to be carried into the office, and by the time he got there he had blacked out,” explained the still grieving mother. “To this day I really don’t know how exactly the whole day unfolded for him.”