Our Pal - Harry P

Story written April 2020

Harry is 11 years old and lives with Severe Brittle Asthma and Type 1 Diabetes. He was diagnosed with Brittle Asthma aged 4, a rare type of acute asthma which has no triggers and is very hard to control. He has had several admissions to hospital over the past 7 years, and his diagnosis was changed about 2-3 years ago from ‘Brittle Asthma’ to ‘Severe Brittle Asthma’ due to the severity of his attacks and that despite being on all the right medication, it is classed as uncontrolled. Then on the 10th September 2017 aged 8, Harry was also diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, with no family history, this came as a massive shock. Harry now has 2 life threatening conditions that he has to live with for the rest of his life. He has good days, bad days and horrific days but his strength amazes us.

Unfortunately on the 3rd January 2020, Harry had a severe asthma attack at home, and on route to the hospital via ambulance, he had a Respiratory Arrest. Luckily the ambulance crew, and all the doctors and nurses in resus were amazing and brought my boy back. We feel so lucky to have him, we know how close it was. Harry does struggle mentally with his health conditions, school is a huge challenge and his anxiety can be so severe that he won’t want to go out and will isolate himself in his bedroom. He has a huge passion for drawing, animation and is an amazing artist, creating cartoon strips and bringing characters from programs he watches, to life.

If you look at Harry, you would think he is a normal 11 year old boy, but the daily challenges that he has to face, and will do for the rest of his life, amazes me. His strength is incredible and he is truly my warrior.

Update 3rd February 2024

Harry has been able to attend his school most days, and is thriving really well. He is now in Year 10 and has been producing some great work in IT, Food Technology & Art (he was named Artist of the Week recently).

Health wise has been a whirlwind. Harry’s asthma is very well controlled at the moment, and his asthma team are really pleased with the stability of it. Unfortunately the same can’t be said of his Diabetes. In September, Harry was extremely poorly whilst on a Scouts Weekend. His blood sugar levels were unreadable because they were so high, and his ketone levels were at a high of 6.2 (they are supposed to be less than 0.6). Once we arrived at the hospital, they rushed us through to resus where we was told that Harry was in DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis – a serious complication of diabetes that can be life threating). We was told that Harry was moments away from falling into a diabetic coma. This of course was a stressful time for all of us, and another unwanted experience of us nearly losing Harry. Due to Harry’s medical issues, he does experience depression and his mental health is affected. He also has a diagnosis of Autism, so he has a lot to cope with. He’s not a little boy anymore, and turning into a handsome (taller than his Mum) teenager. I’m extremely proud of everything that is thrown at him, and how he manages his day to day life.  

Harry’s interests: Likes to collect figures and plushies of Pikmin, Five Nights at Freddy’s & Pokemon. Harry enjoys editing/creating his own animations & videos and regularly uses a PC program called STEAM. He also loves rollercoasters and going to Chessington & Thorpe Park (we are yet to visit Alton Towers – it’s on the to-do list).

Poppy-Kaye’s interests: Likes Nintendo Switch, Animal Crossing. Poppy is a huge animal lover, her favourites being cats & ferrets. She also enjoys collecting crystals (she has a huge collection!) and attending Theme Parks with Harry.

Update 26th August 2022

Harry continues to have good and bad days with his health. The hot weather lately has had a major reaction to his diabetes levels, which has had a knock-on effect his asthma and mood. He has been feeling quite upset, emotional and withdrawn. He has spent most days of the summer holidays on his computer, continuing his animation and creating videos online. We continue to appreciate all post that is sent to us. Thank You 

Update 31st March 2021

Harry has had a bit of a testing time the last few months, with some close calls of having to go into hospital. Luckily we was able to avoid this, although he has still been quite poorly and it’s been heart-breaking to see after him being so well. Harry has had to miss some time from school but we’re hoping he will be able to return full time very soon! We are all very much looking forward to the upcoming Chessington Trip in May as both Harry & Poppy-Kaye are massive rollercoaster fans and Chessington is their favourite place to go. If they could, they would go on The Vampire ride non-stop! Thank you again to everyone who has sent cards/letters and gifts to Harry & Poppy-Kaye, I’m sorry that I can’t thank each and every one of your personally, but please know it is also appreciated!

Update 30th October 2021

Harry has had a very busy month with new beginnings as he has started attending a specialist senior school. It’s a much smaller school which has a max of 6 students per year group, caters for those with medical conditions/Autism yet still works along the national curriculum. Harry is very excited and looking forward to his next adventure. We have been very lucky with Harry’s health and have not needed any hospital trips or admissions lately. We continue to appreciate ALL the post Harry and his sister receives. Getting cards/gifts from all the over the world is very humbling, and knowing that people far, far away from us, in different countries like New Zealand and France, are taking the time to write to Harry. Thank You So So Much! 🙂 xx

Update 14th June 2021

Harry has been a bit poorly on and off for the last couple of months. Further investigation is needed for Harry as the hospital feel that there may be an underlying problem which is affecting his lungs, which then has a knock on effect with his Asthma. Tests and scans may be needed to take place but this is something that will be decided within the next couple of months. Harry is still not fully back at school, and is currently on a reduced timetable. Harry is struggling mentally with everything he is taking on but we are embracing each day one step at a time. We still hugely appreciate all post that is sent to both Harry and his sister, Poppy-Kaye

Update 26th March 2021

Harry’s health has been stable since the New Year started. He is still currently shielding but is due to return to school after Easter. Harry has now also been given a diagnosis of Autism. Something we have been in the process of for 18 months. His asthma has been good so far with no hospital admissions needed and his diabetes has been controlled. Harry still has daily struggles with with health and now his diagnosis of Autism but on the whole, he is doing well. Thank you to everyone who has sent Harry and his sister Poppy-Kaye letters and parcels. It’s appreciated so much.

Update 6th February 2021

Harry has been home schooling since the end of November due to being classed as clinically vulnerable and having confirmed covid cases within his school. Despite this, Harry has been having repetitive severe asthma attacks and has had medication increased and new ones issued. A few occasions we have been close to being admitted to hospital but luckily we were able to control it at home. Harry is quite enjoying being at home as he feels safer and isn’t missing school at all. He really enjoys receiving and opening his post and we are so appreciative of everyone who thinks of him and his little sister.

Update 20th August 2020

Harry has Severe Brittle Asthma and Type 1 Diabetes. Both of these conditions have a major effect on Harry’s life daily. With his diabetes, he has to inject insulin before or after every meal, and he can suffer very low or high blood sugars which needs to be treated quickly to avoid any more harm or damage to his body. This has a major effect on his mood and what activities he can take part in within school and socially. We are approaching 3 years of his diagnosis and Harry still struggles to adapt to this way of life. His asthma is very unpredictable. Brittle Asthma is a rare form of severe asthma. It is difficult to control and can develop into a life threatening attack. Unfortunately Harry had a Respiratory Arrest in January due to his asthma. Thankfully he made a full recovery although he has been admitted again recently in June due to a persistent cough which triggered attacks. Harry has regular appointments due to his conditions, at least once every 2-3 months.

Update 7th June 2020

Harry is currently well, but we did spend some time in hospital a couple of weeks ago after having repetitive severe asthma attacks. His diabetes control is currently poor as he’s reluctant to self care, but it is not causing him any illness due to me having to take full responsibility

I honestly can’t believe the amount of post that both Harry and Poppy have received in such a short amount of time of being with you. Its truly heartwarming and I’ll be forever grateful for people’s generosity and the time they have taken to address them both. Thank you to everyone from England, to Scotland to New Zealand to Belgium! who have welcomed us to the Postpals family xxx