Junior Osei: 'Happy and healthy' boy, 9, dies in his mother's arms after asthma attack

'Always smiling': Junior was a pupil at Suffolks Primary School in Enfield
Robin de Peyer8 April 2018

A “happy and healthy” nine-year-old boy died in his mother’s arms after suffering an asthma attack, his family said.

Keen footballer Junior Osei collapsed at home in north London from an attack before going into a suspected cardiac arrest.

His mother, Mary, called an ambulance but medics were unable to save him and he was pronounced dead at North Middlesex Hospital.

Junior’s 20-year-old sister, Ruth Osei, told the Standard her brother had suffered from asthma for about two years, but that it was mainly triggered by pollen during the summer and had improved of late.

Paying tribute to her brother, she said: "He was funny, he was loving. He was the sweetest little boy ever, honestly. He was honestly a blessing.

Tragic: Junior Osei was a keen footballer, his sister said

"He was always smiling, he was always happy. That’s the type of little boy he was, and I don’t think he knew how much of an impact he had on a lot of people, but he really did. I’m genuinely proud to call him my brother."

Ms Osei, a student at Portsmouth University said her mother, two sisters and brother, from Enfield, had been left distraught after the tragedy on March 2. Junior’s mother, a 48-year-old tailor, was too upset to speak.

“Us siblings, even though the age gap could be quite a lot, we’re all very close. We’re very, very close. When we’re together, we dance and sing and have fun. So it’s just happy memories with him.

“We’re finding it very difficult right now, just having to adjust to the fact that he’s not here. Even little things that you do, sometimes you forget. You might even mention his name or go out to call for him and he’s not here.”

A GoFundMe page set up to help the family cover the cost of Junior’s funeral last month attracted more than £7,000 in donations.

“Everyone that heard about this was touched by the story,” said Ms Osei. “He was a healthy child, you just wouldn’t expect for a nine-year-old to lose his life like that.”

'A blessing': Junior Osei playing in a park last summer

Junior, a keen footballer, attended Suffolks Primary School in Enfield where he excelled at maths, his sister said.

Donna Mungham, a teacher at the school, paid tribute to Junior at his funeral on March 20.

She said: "He meant so much to so many different people that these words couldn’t just come from us, they come from every single member of his Suffolks family.

"Staff and children have helped us by sharing their fondest memories of Osei. From listening to their memories, we noticed that there were some recurring words that stood out.

"Words such as smiley…sometimes in that cheeky way, friendly, a brother, cheerful and beaming were repeated over and over again.

"Everyone we spoke to started off in the same way – by smiling."

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