Doctor! Code blue, emergency room. Respiratory arrest, child's name...

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"Come! Let's play hide and seek!", was the last that I could say before my tragic story began. Childhood memories are often romanticized as a time of innocence, wonder, and carefree joy. However, my childhood was a cursed memory, haunting me for years to come. 

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I won't be able to witness the beauty of nature if clouds are replaced with something harmful. I cough nonstop every time I go outside to see the beautiful sky, but all I can see are dark-colored smoke covering the sky. Living in one of the most polluted areas in the Philippines was very inconvenient, for we are vulnerable to serious illnesses such as asthma. 

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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 12% of the Philippine population of 90 million suffers from asthma, and according to the Global Asthma Report, approximately 11 million, or one out of every ten Filipinos, suffer from asthma, yet 98 percent of Filipino asthma patients remain untreated. I'm not proud that I'm part of this population that is struggling to fight this disease.

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I want this nightmare out of me, but there's currently no cure for asthma, yet treatment can help control the symptoms so you're able to live a normal, active life. Inhalers, which are devices that let you breathe in medicine, are the main treatment. We're poor; I can't simply ask my parents about this. 

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Under the blazing sun, wandering in the streets, I suddenly felt lightheaded. Hyperventilating and almost dying because of the heat of the sun and suffering to catch a breath, a person saw me and took me to the hospital as he shouted, "Help, I think he's having a respiratory arrest because he is hyperventilating." I'm too weak to gain enough consciousness about what's happening.

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"I'm sorry, but he didn't make it." Nothing to ponder here in eternal life, but how my life is a tragic story.