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The death of a London boy who collapsed on the first day of class, stunning his school and jarring the city, was caused by an asthma attack, his mother tells The Free Press.

Abigail Le is speaking publicly for the first time, a week after her 11-year-old son Alex, a Grade 6 pupil at Cedar Hollow Public School in northeast London, collapsed on the first day of school last Tuesday. He died a day later, after being taken off life support.

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Le says it was a tragic mix of excitement from school starting, compounded by the activity of recess, the day’s muggy weather and the start of allergy season, that likely triggered the severe asthma attack.

“Those four combined at that moment,” Le said, adding the boy used his puffer but it failed to stop the asthma attack. “He asked one of his friends to tell the teacher because his puffer wasn’t working.”

Dying of asthma is exceedingly rare, with every year only about 250 Canadians experiencing fatal consequences from the chronic disease that causes airways to swell and blocks the flow of air through the lungs.

Hundreds turned out for weekend visitations and Alex’s funeral Monday, Le said, including many of his former and current teachers, and people who didn’t even know him.

“The teachers said Alex was the type of student that every teacher wants – he is very sweet, understanding and loving,” she said.

Tuesday, she shared sweet memories of the boy who she says loved to cuddle and had an unusual dream for life as a grown-up.

“For Mother’s Day he bought me a bracelet with two hearts. He said, ‘Mommy I got a good discount because the lady thought I was so cute,’” she said. “I keep wearing it – this is the last thing he bought me and he was so proud. It’s priceless.”

As for the future, he had an unexpected plan, his mother recalled.

“I always asked him, well what do you want to do when you grow up – I know you like sports, do you want to play hockey or something like that?” Le said. “He said, ‘No mom, you silly – I can’t even breathe – I want to be a garbage man.’”

The reason for his choice, she said, was because garbage men “meet a lot of different people and they get to clean up people’s mess.”