Laeticia has had severe asthma for five years but shortly after the diagnosis, the patient was forced to retrain and move. She tells us how she learned to live with this chronic respiratory disease.
- Five years ago, Laeticia was diagnosed with asthma after having an attack in the middle of the night.
- In 2020, the 30-year-old had an asthma attack that lasted 48 hours. This caused him to have a cardiac arrest.
- The former firefighter from Paris, who follows a treatment adapted to each season, had to move, change and find a new job as well as invest in medical equipment.
In 2018, Laeticia, aged 32, resumed her studies to become a pharmacy assistant. “A month and a half before my alternation, in June, I had a crisis in the middle of the night, at two or three o’clock. I was short of air, I was coughing and I was out of breath. Given my condition, I I went to the hospital and after doing a test, called ‘Respiratory Functional Exploration (EFR)’, consisting of blowing out candles without and after taking ventolin, the doctors told me that I had asthma. This announcement demoralized me because I am a high-level sportswoman. I did badminton at a national level and figure skating at a departmental level”, confides the patient who was a firefighter at that time of her life.
Cardiac arrest: “I almost died” because of “a big attack” of asthma
A year and a half later, the student constantly inhaled silicic acid when she prepared the drugs in the pharmacy. “My asthma got worse. I went through all the stages: mild, moderate, severe and even in respiratory failure. I had to stop classes”, she details. He happened to make “small crises”, manifested by coughing, wheezing and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). “During reflux, I felt like a lump was in my stomach and it was going up in my lungs. As soon as I ate irritating foods, such as onions or white vinegar, I suffered from burns”remembers the thirties.
Laeticia, whose mother was affected by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), quickly realized that her asthma attacks were triggered for anything and everything. “I’m allergic to weird stuff: furniture, dust, screwdrivers… The biggest problem is smells!”, exclaims the top athlete who has been allergic to shellfish since the age of 7. In general, his asthma attacks are delayed and occur mainly at night. “In 2020, I had a big crisis for 48 hours without realizing it. It earned me a cardiac arrest. I almost died because I tilted too late”, she says.
Severe asthma: “this disease prevents me from living”
Since this misadventure, the patient never goes out without her portable aerosol, which has become her ventolin. “During the first hour after using it, I can shake, be very thirsty and sometimes even have trouble walking.” She admits that asthma, which affects about 4 million French people, is disabling on a daily basis. “This disease prevents me from living. I was a saleswoman, then a cashier and now I am looking for a job. I had to change paths and leave Paris, my native region, to settle in Alsace in order to to be near the mountains”, explains the former Francilienne.
Over the years, the 30-year-old has learned to live with this chronic pathology. “I have several pieces of equipment at home, such as an air purifier or a dehumidifier. I force myself to walk, climb the stairs, do a little hiking or ride an electric bike all the time to strengthen my lungs. From now on, from When I exert myself physically, I cough up my lungs and my heart. This sign of weakness reveals that I’m having trouble breathing,” she specifies.
“At each crisis, we have a sword of Damocles above our heads, but asthma is not inevitable”
To control her asthma and maintain a good quality of life, Laeticia takes background treatment, morning and evening, which she cannot stand because her body gets used to the molecules too quickly. “Every day, I use Innovair and antihistamines. In the event of severe episodes, I have to take cortisone. You should know that my treatment is adapted to each season”, specifies the former firefighter of Paris, who is followed by pulmonologists, allergists, an osteopath and who benefits from respiratory physiotherapy sessions.
Despite the constraints associated with this condition, the patient tries to enjoy life to the full. “We must not forget that it is a fatal disease. With each crisis, we have a sword of Damocles above our heads, but asthma is not inevitable. We must learn to know this pathology, more precisely the triggering factors and the solutions, and to live with it. We have to tell ourselves that we are going to win this fight”, declares the 30-year-old, who believes that this respiratory disease is “trivialized”.
