Averil Power: Why I’m leaving politics to fight for a cause close to my heart

I still remember how frightening it was when I had my first serious asthma attack as a teenager, writes Averil Power

I was frantically gasping for air but it just wouldn’t go in. My airways had contracted, my chest had tightened and my reliever inhaler was having no effect.

I was convinced I was going to die.

Fortunately, the ambulance finally arrived and after some time on a nebuliser I got my breath back.

Sadly, many other people with asthma haven’t been as lucky.

Fifty people die every year in Ireland from asthma attacks. Tragically, 90% of these deaths are preventable.

With a proper treatment plan and the right medication, most asthmatics can live full lives, symptom free.

Having asthma need not hold you back or put limits on what you can do. It certainly hasn’t stopped soccer stars David Beckham and John O’Shea or Tipperary hurler Seamus Callinan.

However, if not properly managed, asthma can be deadly.

Over 470,000 people in Ireland have asthma. Most admit they don’t have their condition under control. As a result, every 26 minutes, one of them ends up in an accident and emergency department.

The Asthma Society of Ireland is working hard to change this. It provides a free advice line (1800 44 54 64) where people with asthma or their carers can get advice from a trained respiratory nurse.

Its nurses also talk to people face-to- face in pharmacies around the country. It runs excellent workshops for parents on managing their children’s asthma, something that is particularly important at this time of year as hospital admissions can treble when children go back to school.

The society lobbies the Government on issues such as the high cost of preventative medication and the need for better primary care for people with asthma.

It is also working in partnership with UCC, DCU and DIT on research into the treatment and causes of asthma.

I had the pleasure of working with the society as a senator, when I tabled debates about asthma in the Seanad and supported their campaigns.

It is a very impressive organisation with top-class programmes, a great team and a strong voluntary board of directors. That is why I am so excited about becoming its new CEO.

I am also looking forward to using my personal experience as an asthmatic to help raise awareness of the condition and secure better services for all adults and children with asthma.

I want to focus 100% of my time and energy on achieving that and so have decided to walk away from politics and not run in the next general election.

Many people have asked if I will miss political life.

I loved being a senator because it gave me the opportunity to work on issues I care about and feel that I was making a difference.

Being part of the marriage equality campaign was a particular high point. As was getting my bill to give adopted people a right to our birth certificates through the Seanad.

Securing a commitment from the Government to carry out a study into asthma-related deaths was also important to me.

I also enjoyed working with students, teachers and mental health groups to develop a national action plan on youth mental health.

However, there is more than one way to make a difference.

Working with the Asthma Society, I can use my experience as a legislator, campaigner and business graduate to fight for better services and supports for people with asthma.

I am very excited about having an opportunity to devote all my energy to a cause that is so close to my heart.

I’ll never forget how frightening my first serious asthma attack was for me and my family and will do everything I can to help stop other people ending up in the same situation.

Averil Power was, this week, appointed the new CEO of The Asthma Society of Ireland