ON THE COVER My Son Saved My Life The three-year-old with a calm head
For Henna’s little boy Ibrahim, her inhaler was a normal part of life – so he knew just what to do when she needed it most!
As someone who’s had asthma for a large portion of her life, Henna has always worried about having an attack when there’s no one around to help. Rightfully so, given that this particular experience offered no warning signs.
“I had felt uneasy after dinner, and then after putting Ibrahim to bed I suddenly felt sick and ran to the bathroom. I started vomiting which then triggered my asthma, making it impossible for me to breathe. Going into panicadults
mode then makes it much worse, and there’s just no stopping it.”
Luckily, Henna had been prepared for such an event. Firstly, by always having her husband on redial in case of an emergency, and also by showing her son, Ibrahim, how she uses her inhaler when breathing gets difficult.
“I taught him so that in case of an emergency he would hopefully be able to help me. I wasn’t expecting him to react the way he did, but it made me realise that kids need to know if something is not right – if Mummy or Daddy, or anybody in fact, needs help then they need to know what to do, even if it just means calling 999.”
Henna had her phone with her when she began to feel ill, but by the time she’d called her husband her breathing had worsened to the point that she couldn’t speak. Having heard her, he rushed home but may not have made it in time had Ibrahim not come to the rescue.
Usually fast asleep by 8.30pm, the young boy woke up, saw his mum in distress and remembered what he’d been taught.
“I managed to say to him, ‘medicine,’ which is normally kept on the worktop, and he’d managed to reach it, bring it to me and then put it in my mouth and press down. Afterwards he brought me a glass of water and mothered me, just like I would do to him!
“My husband came in and found my head resting on Ibrahim’s chest. It wasn’t until he saw his father that Ibrahim finally shed a few tears. I once had an attack at work, and the around me were panicking and unsure what to do.” Which makes her son’s calm reaction all the more surprising. “When I was throwing up I expected him to start crying, and it would be horrible not to be able to reassure him. But he was so calm and composed.”
Henna was also pregnant at the time, meaning Ibrahim’s quick reaction saved both his mother and his younger brother. But she recognises that it was using her inhaler in front of her son on a daily basis that made him react when she couldn’t breathe. By choosing not to hide her medication she had made it a normal household item, meaning he automatically knew where to find her inhaler.
“My son knows if I’m sick. If I’ve got a back problem, he’ll know not to jump on me. Or if I’m running and I’ve stopped because I can’t breathe, he knows to wait for me. If I hadn’t taught him and instead made myself out to be perfectly healthy, then he’d just get confused when I either couldn’t do something or suddenly had an attack.”
After Henna had recovered, she decided to share her story on Facebook.
“Help your kids to understand your illness and the medications you take”
She received a lot of comments from parents with similar experiences, making her more determined to pass on this lesson.
“The point I was trying to make was to tell your kids if you’re sick. Help them understand the medications you’re taking and tell them it’s so that they can help you when things like this happen, because this came out of nowhere. It just happened.”
Henna doesn’t think Ibrahim fully remembers what he did, and is probably still too young to understand that his actions saved both his mother and little brother.
“I’ve kept all the paperwork, all the cuttings and stuff that he can look at when he’s older and I can explain to him then.”
Henna is now also educating her youngest son on her medication.
“Even now, my other son – he’s 14 months – if he sees the asthma pump lying around somewhere, he will pick it up and look for me and give it to me. He knows it’s mine, or if he’s trying to give it to somebody, they’ll say to him ‘It’s not mine, give it to Mamma,’ and he’ll look for me and then he’ll come and give it to me. You may not realise but your children do look out for you!”