EXCLUSIVE
A devastated mother has shared the heartbreaking moment she was forced to turn off her son’s life support after he suffered a fatal asthma attack.
Michael Stallion-Gatt, 36, was gardening at his home in Morwell, eastern Victoria, when the hot weather sparked the severe attack on November 26.
The father-of-three had been hospitalized a week earlier after a similar asthma attack, but made sure to “always carry” his inhaler since his diagnosis as a child.
Stallion-Gatt tried to reach into her puffer to open her airway, but quickly lost consciousness and collapsed in front of her 10-year-old son.
His mother, Diane Gatt, said her quick-thinking grandson sprang into action and called emergency services before attempting to revive his father.
Paramedics installed a breathing tube in Michael’s mouth to help him breathe before he was rushed to hospital and placed in an induced coma.
Three rounds of tests revealed that the loss of oxygen had left him without brain activity, forcing his family to make a heartbreaking call. Michael’s life support was turned off and he passed away with his partner, Brittany, at his side at 5 a.m. on December 6.
Diane Gatt (left) pictured with her son Michael Stallion-Gatt shared the heartbreaking moment she was forced to turn off her life support just weeks before Christmas.
Michael (pictured with his mother) went into cardiac arrest during a severe asthma attack on November 26. Subsequent tests revealed that the lack of oxygen had left him without brain activity.
Gatt told Daily Mail Australia that the pain of losing a child “just breaks you” and that Michael’s siblings, friends and young relatives were devastated.
“You know, you bring them into this world,” the mother of four said.
‘They are your life, they are from the moment they are born.
“My Michael was never left without because if he wanted something, I was always there for him, whatever he could pay for.”
Gatt only found out his son had been rushed to hospital after his friends knocked on his door to tell him the bad news.
She had no idea how bad his most recent attack had been until she saw it.
“I’m used to Michael having asthma attacks and going to the hospital, but I still ran out when I saw him and thought, ‘Oh my God,'” she said.
“I knew right away, I was hoping and praying (for his recovery).”
Gatt said seeing a child die “just tears you apart” but the family is coming together to support his partner and three young children in the run-up to Christmas.
Gatt is now trying to support Michael’s partner, who hugged him as he took his last breath alongside his two sons and daughter.
“She has us for support and we have her for support,” he said.
Michael’s siblings have stepped forward to help “entertain his children” in the run-up to Christmas and will help pay for his funeral on Thursday.
But his mother said the family didn’t realize how expensive it would be to say goodbye to their beloved father.
Since then they have launched a GoFundMe to help pay funeral costs.
While a relatively common condition, severe asthma attacks can inflame the muscles surrounding the airways and stop the flow of oxygen, killing hundreds of Australians each year.
According to Asthma Australia, more than 31,000 people were hospitalized due to asthma attacks in the 2022-2023 financial year.
The charity revealed 474 Australians died from asthma in 2023 alone, with a higher proportion coming from lower socio-economic areas.