DEAR Sir,
Yesterday I attended the funeral of my 17-year-old grandson, Alan MacDonald Campbell. Alan died, suddenly, on March 7 from a severe asthma attack. There is nothing in the world that prepares you for the death of a young person. Until March 7, my worst nightmare was to imagine that one of my children would die before me. The death of a grandchild was beyond all imagining.
I am not writing this letter to my fellow National readers because I am wanting any words of sympathy. I think that this is one of those times in life when there are simply not the words in our vocabulary to do justice to the grief felt by those who had the privilege of being part of Alan's short but wonderful life.
I write to lend my voice to raising awareness of the fact that asthma can be a killer. It has been a recurring comment made by those hearing of Alan's death to say, "I didn't realise that you could die of asthma".
My understanding of the statistics is that two out of 10 of the Scottish population have a diagosis of asthma and one in 20 of those will die from the condition. I am open to correction on these figures. However, the reality is that too many, especially of our young people, are dying with what appears to be very little warning of the deterioration of their health.
Following Alan's death we opened a Just Giving page in his name and to date we have raised over £3000 for asthama Scotland/UK. It appears clear to me that there is not only a need for research into the causes of asthma but also to raise awareness of the potential of the condition to kill, with little warning.
Should any of my fellow National readers feel able to donate the link to Alan's Page is www.justgiving.com/fundraising/susan-campbell30.
With thanks
Susan Campbell
Milngavie
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