Lifestyle

Sister Shares Asthma Tragedy That Changed Everything

Published on June 21, 2025

While most people are soaking up the sunshine and planning beach days, for Gabbiee Hornsey, this time of year brings nothing but heartbreak. The heatwave is a painful reminder of the day she lost her younger sister Dominique, who tragically died from an asthma attack on one of the hottest days of the year.

It was eight years ago, on 17 June 2017, that 19-year-old Dominique’s life was cut short. The young mum, who had a five-month-old son at the time, collapsed suddenly after complaining she felt unwell. Despite being rushed to help, it was too late.

Gabbiee, now 31 and from Port Talbot in South Wales, still remembers the day with devastating clarity. Earlier, they’d been at a family football festival and everything seemed normal. “Domi had just been her usual loud, bubbly self. There was no warning of what was to come,” Gabbiee told the Mirror.

Dominique had always struggled with asthma, having been hospitalised six times over the years, but Gabbiee noticed it had been getting worse. “She was always puffing on her blue reliever inhaler,” she said. “But she was so busy being a mum and living her life that she just shrugged every time I suggested she see a doctor.”

Domi lived just a few miles away with their gran in Britton Ferry. The sisters were close, catching up regularly either in person or over the phone. On the night she died, Dominique rang her big sister full of excitement, chatting about saving up to take her baby boy, Kayden-James, to Disneyland for his fifth birthday.

“That was her dream,” Gabbiee said. “Despite being so young, her baby boy was the centre of her world. The next day we were planning to take the kids for a picnic in the park. As I said goodbye, I had no idea it would be the last time I’d ever speak to her.”

Dominique ended the call at 8.40pm. Just 20 minutes later, she collapsed on the stairs, calling out to her gran that she felt unwell. She died shortly after, before 9.15pm, after suffering cardiac arrest triggered by the asthma attack.

Even years later, Gabbiee says the grief still feels raw. “Domi hadn’t just been my sister, she was my best friend. My kids adored her. Esmae kept asking where she was, and telling her that her crazy, kind auntie was in heaven was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”

The loss left a Domi-sized hole in their lives, with little Kayden-James growing up without his mum. Gabbiee, a single mum herself, was left terrified something might happen to her too. “Grief made me irrational, and for a while I couldn’t cope,” she said. “I lost eight stone in the first few years. I became obsessed with being healthy just to feel more in control.”

In the years since, she’s channelled her heartbreak into helping others. She began fundraising for Asthma + Lung UK to raise awareness of how serious asthma can be, especially in extreme heat. “The only thing I can think that caused her to become wheezy was the heat,” she said. “There was no warning.”

This weekend, Gabbiee and her family are marking the anniversary with a beach picnic in Domi’s memory. “I know she’ll be watching over us,” she said. “She’d be so proud of Kayden-James. He’s eight now, chatty and cheeky – so much like his mum.”

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