Fresh air to breathe, under an asthma doctor’s watchful eye

Joseph Williams sits in front of the television in his room, wearing a headset and listening to voices from Australia, England and the Netherlands crackling in his ear. On the screen is Halo 2, a video game in which he can jump off the edge of buildings, roll to evade bullets and run to hide from his attackers.

But in real life, 14-year-old Joseph has asthma so severe that even lugging a heavy backpack around his school campus could send him to the emergency room.

The first attack Joseph remembers was when he was 6, his father held him and ran to call an ambulance as Joseph choked and wheezed.

“My throat and chest started to hurt, and it was like you’re underwater and trying to hold your breath,” he said.

Joseph’s father also suffered from severe asthma and died two years ago of asthma-related complications, at age 37.

This summer, Joseph will head to Yucaipa for a week at Camp Yolijwa, run by the Asthma and Allergy Assn. of America, where he will be able to play in the pool, do arts and crafts, play games and go on nature hikes under the watchful eyes of the ‘round-the-clock medical staff. The kids also get at least 30 minutes of asthma education each morning, and the camp’s doctors try to match children with the most effective medications.

Because of his frequent attacks, Joseph’s mother took him out of Long Beach’s Polytechnic High, and he can no longer play the saxophone or his favorite sport, soccer.

These days, Joseph does his schoolwork at home, waking up at 6:30 every morning to tackle the textbooks and workbooks he picks up twice a week, spending five hours straight on his studies.

Joseph can be shy at times, but when the topic turns to video games, he spews out statistics and explains what kind of equipment and staff would be required for him to develop a video game. It took him one day to conquer Halo 2’s 15 levels.

“I want to develop games for Microsoft,” he explained. “But once I make it big, I’m going to start my own business.”

But Joseph must contend with the daily challenge of his asthma, using a nebulizer and medications with steroids that give him constant headaches. He used to take allergy shots, which reduced the number of attacks, but his mother, Jessica, said her insurance no longer covers them. She is hopeful that the camp will allow him to make new friends and have fun while putting the stress of asthma out of his mind.

“For Joseph, the escape is to get on that machine and not think about his asthma,” she said of his video games. “I think going to camp will help him deal with the pain and be with other kids while knowing there’s a doctor there 24 hours a day,” she said.

About 12,000 children will go to camp this summer, thanks to $2.1 million raised last year.

The annual fundraising campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which this year will match the first $1.2 million in contributions at 50 cents on the dollar.

Donations are tax-deductible. For more information, call (213) 237-5771. To make credit card donations, go to latimes.com/summercamp.

To send checks, use the attached coupon. Do not send cash.

Unless requested otherwise, gifts of $50 or more will be acknowledged in The Times.