Asthma and every attack have the potential to be life-threatening.
The sudden and tragic death of 12-year-old Ryan Gibbons is a stark reminder of that.
Ryan was an energetic boy who loved motorbikes and hiking in the woods – but a fatal mistake would soon take his life.
Back in 2012, he suffered an asthma attack at school.
He could have simply used his inhaler at the start of the episode, but the life‑saving device had been taken from him.
On October 9, 12-year-old grade 7 student Ryan Gibbons went to school just like any other day.
But that day, he wouldn’t return home.
Ryan suffered an asthma attack while playing soccer at school and was unable to reach his rescue medication, which was locked in the school office.
He needed his inhaler to open his airways and help him breathe.
But the school’s policy required inhalers to be kept in the principal’s office, and spare inhalers were repeatedly confiscated from Ryan.
A group of Ryan’s friends tried to carry him to the office during the attack, but they couldn’t reach the inhaler in time.
Ryan passed out and was never revived. The tragedy occurred at Elgin County School in Ontario, Canada, and shook the entire nation.
After an investigation, it became clear that Ryan’s school did not allow him to keep his puffer with him, despite repeated efforts by his mother and a doctor’s note.
According to his mother, Sandra Gibbons, Ryan often brought an extra inhaler to school to get around the rule. Asthma attacks aren’t always predictable, and keeping the inhaler locked away was dangerous.
But the school kept taking Ryan’s extra inhaler away.
Ryan’s mom said the school called her several times, asking her to pick up an inhaler Ryan had brought to school.
He wasn’t allowed to bring it home.
“You would give him an inhaler, but then he would get caught with the inhaler and it would be taken away,” Sandra Gibbons told CBC. “Then I’d get a phone call. So it was actually very frustrating. I didn’t understand why. I didn’t realize the policy stated that the prescribed medication needed to be in the office.”
Fortunately, Ryan’s tragic death was not in vain.
Since Ryan’s passing, his mother has vowed to do whatever she could to prevent another family from experiencing the same loss.
After the funeral, Sandra Gibbons started a petition urging the Ontario government to require school boards to adopt standardized asthma management plans, and pushed all three parties to pass a private member’s bill from Progressive Conservative Jeff Yurek. “When Ryan passed away, it was like losing everything I lived for,” Gibbons told Allergic Living. “After burying my son, I knew this was a preventable attack. To me, if people had appropriate training and knew what to look for when a child was in distress, he would be here today.”
Sandra aimed to change the laws that kept asthmatic children from carrying their life‑saving devices.
And soon, her determined fight produced results.
Known as Ryan’s Law, Bill 135 passed with all‑party support in the legislature. The law requires schools to allow children to keep their inhalers in their pocket or backpack with a doctor’s note.
“I’m definitely overwhelmed, very emotional, very happy it’s going to be implemented,” Sandra Gibbons said.
The Asthma Society also praised the bill’s passage, with president Dr. Rob Oliphant saying “it is essential that children with asthma have ready access to potentially life‑saving asthma medications while at school.”
Every state in the U.S. has laws allowing students to carry their asthma inhalers with them at all times.
However, some children are still being denied access to these life‑saving medications during the school day. Many schools ban inhalers under blanket anti‑drug policies.
Fatal asthma remains a significant problem, with more than 10 Americans dying each day from asthma.
Even though death rates have declined over the past decade, any asthma death is potentially preventable. I’m so sorry to hear about Ryan’s story. I just hate it when people don’t think, and it’s heartbreaking.
But although Ryan’s story is incredibly tragic, his fate became the driving force behind protecting thousands of children with asthma.
Without his mother’s fight for justice, more preventable deaths would likely occur — and I’m grateful that politicians passed “Ryan’s Law.”
Let’s share this article to remember Ryan and to inform others about the risks of asthma patients not having immediate access to their inhaler.
