Thursday May 29th 2025
Martina Chukwuma-Ezike with Ray Corcoran and former MP Calum Kerr.
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Luke Jackson
Cyril and Ray Corcoran lost their son Sandy of an asthma attack in 1984. With children dying daily of the same condition, the couple were moved to donate the generous sum of £5,000 to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, a charity delivering lifesaving projects in Grampian, in the hope that its remarkable work can be replicated in The Borders, Lothians and Edinburgh.
The charity launched a fundraising campaign which raised a total of £40,200 to deliver the project titled “My Breath Is My Life”, in Sandy’s memory, but was having difficulty in finding delivery partners locally.
Cyril, a prominent supporter of the Yes movement, sadly died in March 2023. At his funeral, the charity’s chief executive, Martina Chukwuma-Ezike, approached former MP Calum Kerr to see if he could help.
Very quickly, Mr Kerr arranged meetings with the CEO and head of education of Scottish Borders Council;, the director of the Scottish Borders Health and Social Care Partnership and Chief Officer of Scottish Borders Health and Social Care IJB; the Director of Public Health and the Additional Support Needs and Wellbeing Support Officer for Schools.
And now, the charity is delivering the project with huge impact, and 3,550 adults, young people and children with asthma, their families/carers in Edinburgh, Lothians and the Scottish Borders, including 64 teaching and support staff from various schools across the region, have been trained on how to manage asthma and provide support, especially in emergencies.
Ray is delighted to see the donation go to good use.
She said: “I feel very lucky to have lived to see this very positive outcome from a devastating loss we experienced over four decades ago. It is our wish that every child living with asthma in the Scottish Borders is supported to live well with their asthma and thrive.”
Mrs Chukwuma-Ezike said: “The death of one child with asthma is one too many, and I want a Scotland where children with asthma are supported to live well with their asthma, achieve academic excellence and have a greater quality of life.”
She added: “From sleep disturbance, poor school attendance, impact on future career outcomes, inability to do everyday activities that children enjoy, repeated hospital admissions and needless deaths which can devastate families like the pain and agony that Ray Corcoran and her late husband Cyril have endured losing their son Sandy to an asthma attack.
“We all at Asthma and Allergy Foundation are grateful to the Corcoran’s for their generous donation and to Calum Kerr for spearheading My Breath Is My Life Project in the Scottish Borders area, ensuring children and young people with asthma are supported to manage their symptoms and improve overall quality of life and equip teachers with the right training and skills to provide support, especially during emergencies.”
Mr Kerr, who earlier this month secured candidacy for the SNP in next year’s Holyrood elections in the Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale, said he was happy to be able to help get the ball rolling for the project.
He said: “I care deeply about every individual in the Scottish Borders, and I am confident the My Breath is My Life project will have a significant lasting and positive impact on improving the lives of children and young people with asthma in the region and was delighted to support the lifesaving work delivered by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation.”
To find out more about the project, or to support it, call 01316 090264 or email info@asthmaandallergy.org.uk
Tweet Share on Facebook
