She died of an asthma attack 1 year ago — now, her mom is speaking out to help others

Katerina Georgieva · CBC News

· Posted: May 12, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

Whenever Kimberly Couvillon wants to consciousness adjacent to her daughter, she visits Windsor's George Avenue Park. 

By the parking lot, there's a memorial: flowers and images of 14-year-old Amber Marie McCollom. It was astatine that park, astir 1 twelvemonth ago, that McCollom had an asthma onslaught that claimed her life. 

"No genitor should ever person to unrecorded done this benignant of loss," Couvillon said. 

She described her daughter, 1 of 5 children, as a "little fireball" with truthful overmuch energy. She loved dancing and singing and ran track-and-field. 

A 'scary' diagnosis

"Her asthma constricted her to the 100-metre-dash, but she was 1 of the fastest successful her class," she said.

"She wanted to assistance people. She wanted to beryllium a societal worker."

Amber, was archetypal diagnosed with asthma erstwhile she was conscionable 3 years aged erstwhile she had a terrible onslaught that landed her successful hospital. 

"It was scary," Couvillon recalled. After that, she would extremity up successful the exigency country astir erstwhile a year, but Couvillon said that successful caller years it seemed similar things were getting nether control. 

A tragic time successful June

In June 2024, Couvillon's worst nightmare played out.

On June 2, the past happening Amber said to her ma was "I emotion you" earlier gathering up with friends astatine George Avenue Park. 

It was determination that she suffered a terrible asthma attack. She had her inhaler, but it wasn't helping to get the onslaught nether control. Her parent explained that she had needed Ventolin successful that moment, which is utilized to summation aerial travel successful the lungs. An ambulance was called, but Couvillon said the paramedics didn't get successful clip to get her that medicine successful time. Amber had gone into cardiac arrest. 

Couvillon received a telephone from paramedics portion they were trying to get Amber's pulse back. They were capable to bash truthful aft six minutes, but by then, the deficiency of oxygen had done irreparable harm to her brain. 

Amber was treated successful infirmary successful the days that followed, and Couvillon held retired anticipation that her girl would travel backmost to her. But tragically, connected June 5th, Amber was pronounced dormant owed to deficiency of encephalon activity.

Amber's organs were donated, and saved aggregate lives. 

"She would person wanted that. That was her thing. She ever wanted to assistance people, truthful she saved 2 children with her kidneys, a 30-year-old pistillate with her liver and a 60-year-old antheral with her heart, and her pancreas was donated to research," Couvillon said.

"It makes maine consciousness bully due to the fact that there's radical retired determination that are surviving and they're not feeling what I'm feeling," she said done tears.

Couvillon said she's sharing her communicative present she doesn't privation different families to acquisition this benignant of tragedy. 

300 radical dice to asthma each year

"People don't recognize however terrible asthma tin be," she said. "People don't recognize it tin beryllium deadly."

She hopes for amended acquisition and amended treatments for radical surviving with asthma.

Jeffrey Beach, the president and CEO for Asthma Canada, explained that statistic amusement that astir 300 radical annually successful Canada suffer their lives to asthma. 

"We privation radical to cognize that they whitethorn not beryllium taking their asthma arsenic earnestly arsenic they should be," helium said, encouraging anyone with asthma to spell to the Asthma Canada website and entree the supports disposable to assistance them there. He encourages individuals to evaluate their absorption of their asthma and speak with their doctor. The enactment besides escaped entree to a certified respiratory educator.

He added that an estimated 50 per cent of radical surviving with asthma do not person their condition optimally controlled, which tin pb to "devastating" consequences, helium said. 

Looking back, determination were a fig of things that had piled connected successful the pb up to Amber's death, Couvillon reflected. Just days before, they had taken Amber to spot her doc and they were told that her breathing wasn't doing precise well, and truthful the doc had switched to a caller puffer medication. On apical of that, Amber besides suffered from allergies that made matters worse, and later, astatine the hospital, Couvillon recovered retired that she had besides had a viral corruption they had been unaware of.

Furthermore, Amber had besides been vaping. Couvillon had tried to halt her from doing it, but with nary luck. 

"You request to support your lungs," Couvillon said, "especially having asthma."

A seat successful Amber's honour

To honour her daughter's memory the household did a balloon merchandise astatine the parkland connected her day connected December 2, and they program connected doing different 1 connected the archetypal day of her decease this coming June. 

They are besides holding 2 fundraisers successful the coming weeks to rise $5,000 for a imperishable seat for the parkland successful Amber's memory. The seat volition besides display a QR Code that directs radical to Amber's communicative on with accusation astir however to attraction for asthma. If there's immoderate wealth near over, that volition spell to Asthma Canada successful Amber's memory. 

As for however the household is coping present successful the aftermath of the loss, Couvillon said they propulsion together, adding that she finds talking astir it is helpful. 

"She was conscionable an awesome person. She had truthful overmuch imaginable to bash truthful overmuch good, and she wanted to bash good, she wanted to assistance people. And I truly privation radical to instrumentality asthma much serious. Because it is — asthma is serious," Couvillon said.

"I conscionable miss her truthful much. I really, truly do."