Remembering Nelson Ku: New Cook Children’s Asthma Clinic Named in Honor of Fort Worth Boy Who Loved Laughter

Nelson Ku didn’t just attend school, he starred in it. The hallways and classrooms of Fort Worth’s All Saint’s Episcopal School were center stage for his uncanny ability to make his friends and classmates laugh. Nelson was known as a smile maker and deeply loved for it.

“Nelson loved going to school because of his love for his classmates,” said Nelson’s father, Peter Ku, D.D.S., a long-time Fort Worth dentist and a member of the Board of Trustees for Cook Children’s Health Care System. “He loved hanging out with them. His love for his friends is why he enjoyed so much being silly and trying to make others laugh.”

So when an asthma attack during Lacrosse practice took his life in February 2024, it devastated the All Saint’s community and left Nelson’s father, mother, Beth, and big brother, Marshall, reeling from their loss. Nelson was just 11 years old when he died.

“That morning I woke up and got ready to go to the office, kissed him in the back of the head and said, ‘Nelson, I love you.’ And he said, ‘Dad, I love you too,’” Dr. Ku said. “I never imagined I’d get a phone call at 4 that evening and never hear him again.”

It’s a call that no parent can fathom, and many question how anyone could go on after. Yet, while still walking through their own deep sorrow, the Ku family is finding comfort and purpose in their faith in Christ and in bringing awareness to the complications of asthma.

Finding Purpose in Tragedy

Dr. Ku and his wife, Beth, believe proper training and education, coupled with the use of rescue tools, could have made a difference in Nelson’s life that day. In hopes of saving others, they are working with Cook Children’s to educate families, schools and sports organizations about the serious health impacts of asthma and the tools available to intervene when a child experiences an attack. The couple hopes asthma rescue medications and resources will one day be as standard in schools, on practice fields and at every sporting event as automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) are today.

In June, Cook Children’s officially launched a new program to help children and families better manage asthma and its hidden threats. It’s known as the Nelson Ku High-Risk Asthma Program. The goal of the program is to identify and address the barriers to asthma care and symptom control of children who often seek care for the condition in the emergency department. The program aims to give them the education and tools they need to reduce the severity of their attacks and the need for hospitalization.

“We're glad to be able to recognize Nelson, but we don't want it to 100% be about him,” Dr. Ku said. “We want his story to make a difference. We want his story to inspire others to say, ‘Hey, asthma is important. We're going to do whatever we can to better protect our kids when it comes to this stuff.’ We’re trying to do things that make a difference.”

The Ku family wants parents, educators and coaches to know that asthma is a serious condition that cannot be taken for granted.

“I would imagine death from asthma isn't one of the higher children's fatality statistics, but at the end of the day, one life being lost to asthma is too many, which is, in my opinion, very controllable,” Dr. Ku said. “I love that the high-risk clinic allows those kids who really struggle with it to be able to find some hope in it.”

A Life Well Lived

In his 11 years, Nelson lived a lot of life.

When he wasn’t making his friends laugh, he did his best to pester his big brother, as most little brothers do. Although separated by a significant age gap, Dr. Ku says the brothers were “two peas in a pod.” They often spent time together down by the creek on the family’s property.

Marshall has a special memory of helping his little brother collect creek water to view under his new microscope, evidence of Nelson’s inquisitive nature and affinity for science.

“His favorite subject was science,” Dr. Ku said. “His science teacher told us that he would go to her classroom after school and when he had breaks to sit down with her and ask questions regarding things from outer space to creation to the human anatomy.”

In addition to collecting smiles from his friends, Nelson curated an impressive assortment of stuffed animals, including a life-sized plush black cat that became his favorite of all. Dr. Ku estimates he had about 15 piled high on his bed and would nestle into them every night.

“We would call it his nest,” Dr. Ku said. “He would put all his stuffed animals around and just kind of scrunch in the middle of all that, plus have covers on him. Looking back, it just showed his innocence, and I love that about him.”

Like it was for Nelson, that sweet collection of stuffed animals is now a source of comfort for his parents, reminding them of their son’s quirky nature, and in true Nelson fashion, bringing a smile to their faces.

The Nelson Ku High-Risk Asthma Clinic, named in honor of their beloved son, brings them a sense of solace, too.

“It means a lot to be able to find purpose,” Dr. Ku said. “I don't know how families do it if they aren't able to find how to utilize a tragic event to make a difference. It brings healing and it brings comfort and, honestly, in my opinion, it brings significance to nothing.”

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