Tracy, Olson, Share First Hand Struggles With Asthma Ahead of Stair to Care
The ability to breathe is an action that neither Adrian Tracy nor Jake Olson takes for granted.
Both Ticats were diagnosed with asthma at a young age and have battled the condition through childhood and up the ranks to the Canadian Football League.
Tracy almost lost his life from a severe asthma attack when he was a kid.
“I was four or five,” recalled Tracy. “I was at my grandma’s house and some of my asthma induce is based on the environment, whether it be dust or mold… She had an older house. I was playing with my cousins and it happened. We were kind of further out in the country and didn’t have access to a hospital as quickly as would be necessary, but my mom knew the steps to get my breathing under control and pretty much saved my life.”
Similar to Tracy, Olson began experiencing difficulties with his breathing during his youth. The offensive lineman takes a maintenance inhaler every morning and evening to keep his breathing under control. Olson’s first bout with the condition happened while he was in elementary school.
“I don’t exactly remember the age, but all of a sudden one day at recess I went out and played and could never catch my breath the rest of the day,” said Olson. “When my mom picked me up from school, I was starting to get blue lips and she rushed me to the hospital and that’s when I was diagnosed with asthma.”
Their own personal struggles with breathing led Tracy and Olson to step up as Team Breathe Captains for Stair to Care on Oct. 2 at Tim Hortons Field. The event brings together Ticats players and Hamiltonians to raise money for the Ontario Lung Association. Individuals can choose a Ticats team captain or form a team of their own with friends and family to climb the stadium steps.
There are currently 2.4 million Ontarians affected by lung disease according to the Lung Association. The funds raised by each Stair to Care team will go towards programs and services for patients and their health-care providers as well as lung care research, specifically asthma.
The Ontario Lung Association is dedicated to empowering Canadians to help them breathe, according to President and CEO George Habib.
“Children have died of asthma attacks because they didn’t have their inhaler, or their asthma wasn’t managed and they couldn’t get it back under control,” said Habib “The reason they should care about it is because without our breath, there is no life. Our tagline is ‘when you can’t breathe nothing else matters. With the number of children and seniors living with lung disease, and it’s only growing, people really need to think about breathing.”
Oct. 2nd will mark the second annual Stair to Care event and the first year that Team Breathe Captains are incorporated into the cause. Olson was the lone ambassador in 2015, but this year, he is competing against fellow teammates Simoni Lawrence, Mike Daly, Mike Filer, and Tracy to raise the most money.
The Ticats team leaders have been using twitter as a recruiting tool as well as to engage in some banter with their fellow captains.
According to Olson, it’s all in good fun.
“We joke with each other, but in the end it comes down to the fact that it’s for a great cause,” he said. “The more people we can get involved, the better it’s going to be.”
Approximately $20,000 was raised at last year’s event, according to Habib. The goal this year is to raise $50,000; the cost of a research grant.
Nearly 570,000 Canadian children and youth are currently living with asthma, according to the Lung Association. Tracy knows first hand what it’s like growing up and playing sports while having a lung condition. His advice to kids with asthma who are also physically active is to be aware and educated about their condition.
“First and foremost, don’t be scared,” said Tracy. “Don’t hinder yourself from doing the things you love. But if you do know that what you’re doing, if it’s sports related, is going to cause an asthma attack or put you in a situation in which your breathing can be compromised, make sure that you know the steps to take in order to either prevent it or if it does happen, to get it under control as soon as possible.“
*For more information on how to register, visit the Stair to Care website.