Jesse James Decker’s son’s battle with asthma (Exclusive)

Looking back, Jesse James Decker says he saw the first signs of illness before his son, Forrest, was 2 years old. “Every time he was running or playing with other kids, I had to stop and catch my breath,” said Jesse James Decker, a Nashville-based country singer and mother of four children with former NFL star Eric Decker. “My lungs didn’t seem to be able to keep up.”

The toddler seemed to catch colds more often than his siblings, and when he did, he would suffer from uncontrollable coughs and sometimes vomit so violently. “It would break your heart to see it,” Jesse says.

Finally, in January 2021, after three ER visits in six weeks, doctors informed the Deckers of their son’s health issues. Forrest had asthma. Asthma was a chronic disease that caused the lungs and airways to swell when exposed to certain triggers, making it difficult to breathe.

“I remember being so scared because I had read stories about kids having asthma attacks and the outcome wasn’t great,” Jesse recalls. “I was surprised because I didn’t know much about it.”

Five years later, Forrest is now 7 years old, thriving thanks to medication and careful monitoring, and he and his mother are passionate about sharing their story in hopes of helping the approximately 5.5 million other American children living with childhood asthma.

“Forrest knows everyone has something going on and asthma is his only problem,” says Jesse, 37. “Life is what you make it. We want to make the most of this and raise awareness so people don’t feel alone.”

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When Forrest was born in March 2018, neither Jesse nor Eric had any idea that their son had respiratory issues. The couple’s romance was documented on E! The reality show Eric & Jesse: Game On already has two children together, daughter Vivian, born in 2014, and son Eric Jr., born a year later in 2015. Although Eric Jr. spent a week in the neonatal intensive care unit after his birth, Forrest returned home on time and seemed perfectly healthy.

“He was born full term and weighed 9 pounds,” Jesse says. “And he was fine. He didn’t have to go to the NICU or anything.” But as Forrest learned to walk and run, signs of his condition began to show. “When we let him play soccer, he started getting short of breath when running,” Jesse says. “He was doing little things with his lips, like he couldn’t breathe. That’s when I thought, ‘I need to figure this out for him.'”

Helping her on that journey was her sister, Sydney Ray Bass, whose daughter Brooklyn was born prematurely at 28 weeks in 2017 with asthma. “She knew about asthma and told me what I needed to look for,” Jesse recalls.

“She had me take off Forrest’s shirt and said, ‘See this part of his chest that’s caved in? It’s because he’s fighting for air.”’ Sydney also introduced her to Owlet baby monitor socks, which help measure Forrest’s oxygen levels and provide 24/7 support and advice.

“A few months ago, Forrest had an asthma attack at my sister’s house, and I was panicking because I didn’t bring my inhaler, and Sydney was like, ‘Great, I have it.’ And she pulled it out and he took his puff, and it was fine,” Jesse says. “But, at moments like that, I’m really surprised. I feel so helpless and it’s scary. I’m really grateful that I have a sister who helped me so much.”

Jesse and Forrest are working with their doctors to create a medication regimen to minimize seizures. He uses a corticosteroid inhaler daily to reduce inflammation in his airways and keeps an albuterol inhaler at home and school to treat sudden wheezing and shortness of breath.

“Several times a week, usually after gym class, when he runs, he goes to the school nurse and the nurse gives him a puff,” Jesse says. He also switched from soccer to baseball because it was easier on his lungs.

“Baseball is a great sport for him because there’s not a lot of base-to-base running,” Jesse says. “He chose it, which is good, because it is impossible for him to be on the football field at the moment. It’s as if he knows that he will be blown into the wind sooner.”

Fortunately, one thing he had to give up was music. Like his mother, Forrest loves singing, songwriting, and playing the piano and guitar. And he’s known for performing impressive Michael Jackson-style dance moves in his family’s living room. “He’s very musical,” Jesse says. “Sometimes he does too many things in a row and I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m going to give my lungs a break and sit on the couch.’ But he’s so excited and he doesn’t want to stop. He loves performing.”

Doctors say Forrest’s asthma may subside as he gets older and his lungs and airways develop, but for now he’s content to deal with his symptoms.

“It doesn’t stop him. He just deals with it,” says Jesse. “I think it probably helps that his sister has severe allergies and has to carry an EpiPen with him. It’s like it’s her thing and the asthma is his thing and we don’t make a drama out of it.”

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Asthma tends to run in families, so Jesse is well aware that her youngest son, Denver, born in February 2024, could also develop asthma. Neither she nor Eric had ever had asthma, but Sydney had mild asthma as a child. And doctors believe asthma is linked to allergies (like Vivian) and eczema (which both Forrest and Denver deal with). This is because all three are associated with inflammation.

“Let’s take a look,” Jesse says. “Denver is just getting to the age where he’s a little more active, so we’ll see how his breathing goes. His eczema is the worst I’ve seen in kids, and again, it’s all tied together, so it might be something he has to deal with as well. I’m worried about him, to be honest.”

But whatever happens, the Deckers are confident they can handle it as a family.

“The kids are so supportive of each other,” Jesse says. “Bibi is very motherly and caring, and little Eric is a very good big brother. He sees Forrest in the school hallway and they give each other fist pumps. They look out for each other.”

While both mom and dad have multiple careers – Jesse, who debuted on the charts in 2009 with the single “Wanted,” is planning new music in addition to expanding his line of kitchenware and Kittenish fashion, and Eric is competing in pickleball – they both put family first.

“We are very busy with our children,” says Jesse. “Vivi’s gymnastics has kept us very busy. Eric is starting middle school football. We’re going on tour next fall, but we’re only going on a couple of weekends and coming back. We don’t want to be away from the kids that long. We love being home.”