Elaine Cunningham, 51, who lost her 19-year-old daughter Lauren Reid to a fatal asthma attack in February 2020, believed she would die the same way during a life-threatening incident in October. She was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow after becoming seriously unwell with breathing difficulties and dangerously low oxygen levels.
The mum-of-two said memories of Lauren flooded back as she struggled to breathe while waiting for an ambulance. Lauren's final words to her mum were "Mum, I'm panicking," before she suffered a fatal asthma attack while working at Glasgow restaurant Gin71.
Health Scare and Hospital Treatment
Elaine told the Record she feared history was repeating itself as she gasped for breath during the incident on Monday, October 12. She said: "I got a chest infection after going in a hot tub on a girls' trip to Dumfries around a month ago. I got antibiotics and moved in with my mum shortly after to look after her."
"My chest infection wouldn't lift even with a second prescription of antibiotics. By the following week I was struggling to breathe and multi-dosing with my inhaler. My mum was asking me what was wrong but I realised I couldn't speak." Elaine's own mum dialled for an ambulance as her condition deteriorated.
Reliving Lauren's Final Moments
Elaine told the Record she knew how her daughter felt in her final moments. "Lauren was stuck in my brain during the whole episode," she said. "Her final three words, 'Mum, I'm panicking,' were replaying in my mind. I thought I was going to go a similar way."
"I now know how Lauren felt as she passed as I lay there trying to breathe and staring up at the white light above. I was panicking going into the ambulance but I couldn't allow myself to die in front of my mum. I told the paramedics, 'My wain died, the same better not happen to me.'"
Life-Threatening Condition and Campaign
Medics told Elaine her condition was life-threatening after checking her vitals. Her oxygen saturation level was 89 per cent, meaning her organs may not have been receiving enough oxygen to function. Her breathing rate was also at an abnormal 36 breaths per minute. She was kept on intravenous antibiotics and magnesium sulphate to help her breathing before her condition improved and she was later discharged.
Since Lauren's death, Elaine has campaigned tirelessly for Lauren's Law, to introduce salbutamol inhalers into workplace first-aid kits. She urged anyone suffering from breathing problems not to delay seeking treatment as it could lead to devastating consequences. She said: "I have to speak out to stress to people to get checked out if they have a shortage of breath because it can be fatal. We need to raise awareness in Lauren's name and hopefully that can save a life."
