{"id":1547,"date":"2026-07-21T20:51:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T20:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/?p=1547"},"modified":"2026-07-21T20:51:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T20:51:47","slug":"asthma-can-be-fatal-remembering-ryan-gibbons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thejoeroganpod.com\/?p=1547","title":{"rendered":"Asthma can be fatal: Remembering Ryan Gibbons"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Ryan<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Asthma\u00a0and every attack have the potential to be\u00a0life-threatening.<\/p>\n

The sudden and tragic death of 12-year-old Ryan Gibbons is a\u00a0stark reminder of that.<\/p>\n

Ryan was an energetic boy who loved motorbikes and hiking in the woods \u2013\u00a0but a fatal mistake would soon take his life.<\/p>\n

Back in 2012, he suffered an asthma attack at school.<\/p>\n

He could have simply used his inhaler at the beginning of the episode, but the life-saving device had been taken from him.<\/p>\n

On October 9, 12-year-old grade 7 student Ryan Gibbons went to school \u2013\u00a0just like any other day<\/p>\n

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However, that day he wouldn\u2019t return home.<\/p>\n

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Sandra Gibbons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ryan suffered an asthma attack while playing\u00a0soccer\u00a0in school and was unable to reach his rescue medication, which was locked in the school office.<\/p>\n

The suffering boy needed his inhaler to open his airways and allow him to breathe.<\/p>\n

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But it was his school\u2019s policy to keep the inhalers locked in the principal\u2019s office and spare inhalers were\u00a0repeatedly confiscated\u00a0from Ryan.<\/p>\n

A group of Ryan\u2019s friends tried to carry him to the office during the attack, but the boys couldn\u2019t get to the inhaler in time.<\/p>\n

Ryan passed out and never was revived.<\/p>\n

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Sandra Gibbons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tragedy occurred at the\u00a0Elgin Country School\u00a0in Ontario, Canada, and shook a whole nation.<\/p>\n

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After an investigation, it became clear that Ryan\u2019s school didn\u2019t allow him to keep his puffer with him, despite repeated efforts by his mother and a doctor\u2019s note.<\/p>\n

According to his mother, Sandra Gibbons, Ryan would often bring an extra inhaler to school in order to bypass this rule.<\/p>\n

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Sandra Gibbons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Asthma attacks aren\u2019t always predictable, and it is dangerous to keep the inhaler locked in a room.<\/p>\n

But the school kept taking Ryan\u2019s extra inhaler away.<\/p>\n

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Ryan\u2019s mom said that the school called her\u00a0on several occasions, asking her to pick up an inhaler that Ryan had brought to school.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t allowed to bring it home.<\/p>\n

\u201dYou would give him an inhaler but then he would get caught with the inhaler and then it would be taken away,\u201d Sandra Gibbons said, speaking to\u00a0CBC.<\/p>\n

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Sandra Gibbons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201dThen I\u2019d get a phone call. So it was actually very frustrating. I didn\u2019t understand why. I didn\u2019t realize that the policy actually stated that the prescribed medication needed to be in the office.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fortunately, Ryan\u2019s tragic death was not in vain.<\/p>\n

Since Ryan\u2019s death, his mother has vowed to do whatever she could to prevent another family from going through what she went through.<\/p>\n

After the funeral, Sandra Gibbons started a petition asking the Ontario government to force school boards to adopt standardized asthma management plans, and urged all three parties to pass a private member\u2019s bill from Progressive Conservative Jeff Yurek.<\/p>\n

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The Lung Association \u2013 Ontario<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen Ryan passed away, it was like losing everything that I lived for,\u201d Gibbons told\u00a0Allergic Living. \u201cAfter burying my son, I knew that 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sandra\u2019s aimed to change the laws that keep asthmatic children from being able to carry their life-saving devices.<\/p>\n

And soon her conscious struggle would generate results.<\/p>\n

Known as Ryan\u2019s Law, Bill 135 has now passed with all-party support in the legislature.<\/p>\n

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Sandra Gibbons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The law\u00a0forces schools to allow children to have their\u00a0inhalers in their pocket or backpack with a doctor\u2019s note.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m definitely overwhelmed, very emotional, very happy it\u2019s going to be implemented,\u201d said Sandra Gibbons.<\/p>\n

The Asthma Society also applauded the bill\u2019s passage, with president Dr. Rob Oliphant saying \u201cit is essential that children with asthma have ready access to potentially life-saving asthma medications while at school.\u201d<\/p>\n