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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, December 18, 2009 · 18 Mom is Christmas Seals ambassador By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Technically, Lynn Pike of Oakville died, but her lastminute plea to a paramedic not to let her pass away saw him reply -- `Not on my watch.' Indeed. Nor on the watch of Dr. Danny Sapir at OakvilleTrafalgar Memorial Hospital (TOM). Pike is now the 2009 Christmas Seals Provincial Ambassador for The Lung Association. The road from relaxing at home one night to being in the limelight, began one evening 11 years ago for the life-long Oakville resident. After tucking her then two-year-old son, Kyle, into bed and settling down to watch a movie with her husband Paul, Pike couldn't stop coughing. As she expended a canister of her inhaler to no avail, Paul dialed 911. Pike remembers feeling terror, helplessness and spiraling toward blacking out -- and not breathing at all. When paramedics arrived, she at one point pushed aside the oxygen mask they'd clamped on her face and managed to whisper, "Don't let me die! I have a baby!" Then she went into full respiratory arrest and had to trust the paramedic -- and others. Today, she credits the staff at OTMH for bringing her back and keeping her Lynn Pike and son Kyle 11 years ago alive. She recovered in the hospital's intensive care unit where she learned that her oxygen levels had been so low, she should have suffered organ damage -- but didn't. She and Paul, who have been married 20 years, have Kyle and another son, Cameron, who is 10. Not only does Pike now fundraise for OTMH and work with the Lung Association, she is the 2009 Christmas Seals Provincial Ambassador for The Lung Association. Pike was diagnosed with asthma at age 20 and had it for a number of years. However, the attack that came on so quickly that night took her by surprise. "I can remember almost every detail of that night including the intense fear, of knowing that I was literally suffocating to death, but couldn't do anything to stop it," said Pike. When she arrived at the hospital emergency, she was vital signs absent. The situation was grim. An emergency team revived Pike and after her stay in intensive care, she went home. "As a mom you want to be there for your kids," said Pike. "My life was saved that night. Now I want to help others manage their asthma so they never have to experience the fear and pain I went through." Today, Pike is very involved with The Lung Association as a volunteer and is a key member of the Asthma Action Program Committee where she helps review consumer asthma materials from a patient perspective. By using Christmas Seals on the back of their holiday greetings and parcels, Canadians are helping the one in five Canadians with breathing difficulties, like Pike. Pike said she recognizes now that she was overusing her asthma medication in the weeks and months leading up to her near-fatal attack. She mistakenly thought good asthma control meant her inhaler. "I was using my rescue inhaler a lot so that I could breathe. In hindsight, I realize it didn't need to be like that," said Pike. Today, her asthma is under much better control. She regularly uses her controller medication, knows to avoid her triggers and recognizes the warning signs of worsening asthma. "I was given a second chance at life," she said. "To think I could have lost my son, my husband and not lived to see my second son born is too much to handle some days. As a mom, I am so happy to be able to help my boys with their school work, go to their games and enjoy life with them. And if I can help others with asthma stop and think about how well they are managing their disease, perhaps other lives can be saved long before they ever need an emergency department." "I have not been back to an emergency room since. My asthma has been totally controlled through medication and education," said Pike. Pike's story is, sadly, too familiar. Asthma claims the lives of nearly five Canadians each week -- and most of the deaths could be prevented if asthma were properly managed. In Ontario, nearly one million men, women and children have asthma and almost 60 per cent do not have it under control, placing them at serious risk. The Lung Association began its Christmas Seals campaign in 1908 to help eradicate tuberculosis. While tuberculosis today is not the health threat it once was, lung disease in Canada is on the rise. Asthma rates continue to climb, particularly amongst children and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is expected to be the thirdleading cause of death in Canada in a few short years. As well, the link between air quality and lung disease is becoming more evident, with 21,000 Canadians expected to die each year from the effects of air pollution. According to the Lung Association, lung attacks, which are severe episodes of breathlessness, are just as deadly as heart attacks. Pike now sits on two committees with the Oakville Hospital Foundation and Asthma Action Committee with the Ontario Lung Association, and volunteers with its tulip campaign. Donations to the Christmas Seal campaign go towards patient education and support for lung diseases like asthma, COPED and lung cancer. Donations fund research into better treatments, and potential cures. Donations also support programs that help smokers quit, improve air quality and educate Canadians about lung health. To find out more about managing asthma, call The Lung Association's Asthma Action Helpline at 1-800-6687682 and speak to a certified asthma educator.