Jessie James Decker’s Son’s Battle with Asthma (Exclusive)

Looking back, Jessie James Decker says she saw the first signs before her son Forrest even turned 2. “When he was running and playing with the other kids, he’d always have to stop and catch his breath,” says the Nashville-based country singer and mom of four with retired NFL star Eric Decker. “It was like his lungs couldn’t keep up with him.” 

The toddler seemed to catch cold more often than his siblings too, and when he did, he struggled with wheezing and uncontrollable coughing, sometimes so violent that the force of it would make him throw up. “It would break your heart to watch it,” says Jessie. 

Finally in January 2021, after three visits to the ER in six weeks, doctors gave the Deckers an explanation for their son’s health challenges: Forrest had asthma, a chronic condition in which the lungs and airways swell up when exposed to certain triggers, making breathing difficult.

“I remember being so scared because you read stories of kids having asthma attacks and the outcomes not being great,” recalls Jessie. “I was freaking out because I didn’t really know much about it.”

Now, five years later, Forrest is 7 and thriving, thanks to a combination of medication and careful monitoring, and he and his mom have become passionate about sharing their story in the hopes of helping some of the approximately 5.5 million other U.S. kids who are living with childhood asthma. 

“Forrest knows that everybody has something, and asthma is just his thing,” says Jessie, 37. “Life is what you make of it, and we want to make the best of this and try and raise awareness so people don’t feel so alone.”

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When Forrest was born in March 2018, neither Jessie nor Eric had any idea their son had any breathing issues. The couple, whose romance was chronicled on the E! reality show Eric & Jessie: Game On, already had two children together, daughter Vivianne, born in 2014, and son Eric Jr., born a year later in 2015. Eric Jr. had spent a week in the neonatal intensive care unit after his birth, but Forrest went home right on schedule, seemingly perfectly healthy.

“He was born full-term and 9 pounds,” says Jessie. “And he was fine. He didn’t have to go to the NICU or anything like that.” But as Forrest learned to walk and then run, hints of his condition started to emerge. “When we put him in soccer, he would get so short of breath when he was running,” says Jessie. “He would do this little thing with his lip, like he couldn’t catch his breath. And that’s when I was like, ‘I need to figure this out for him.’ ”

Helping her on that journey was her younger sister Sydney Rae Bass, whose daughter Brooklyn was born premature at 28 weeks — and with asthma — in 2017. “She knew asthma and showed me what I needed to look for,” recalls Jessie.

“She had me take Forrest’s shirt off, and she said, ‘Do you see this part of his chest that looks like it’s concave? That’s because he’s fighting for air.’ ” Sydney also introduced her to the Owlet baby monitor sock to help measure Forrest’s oxygen levels and offered support and advice 24/7. 

“Forrest had an asthma attack at my sister’s house a few months ago, and I was freaking out because I didn’t bring his inhaler, and Sydney was like, ‘It’s good. I’ve got one.’ And she pulled it out, he took his puffs, and it was fine,” says Jessie. “But you know, those moments really just freak me out. You feel so helpless, and it’s terrifying. I’m just so grateful that I have my sister, who’s been such a help.”

Working with his doctors, Jessie and Forrest now have a medication regimen in place that keeps the attacks to a minimum. He uses a daily corticosteroid inhaler to reduce inflammation in his airways and keeps an albuterol inhaler with him at home and at school to treat sudden wheezing or shortness of breath. 

“A few times a week, usually after PE class if he runs, he’ll go to the school nurse, and she’ll administer the puff to him,” says Jessie. He’s also traded soccer for baseball because it’s easier on his lungs. 

“Baseball is a great sport for him because there’s not a lot of running apart from base to base,” says Jessie. “He chose it, but it’s good because there’s no way right now that he could be on a soccer field. It’s like he knows he will get winded so much faster.”

Fortunately one thing he hasn’t had to give up is his music. Like his mom, Forrest loves singing, songwriting and playing piano and guitar. And he’s been known to show off some impressive Michael Jackson-style dance moves in the family living room. “He’s just so musical,” says Jessie. “Sometimes if he does too many things in a row, I’ll be like, ‘Okay, let’s give our lungs a break and sit down on the couch,’ but he’s so excited, he doesn’t want to stop. He loves to perform.”

While doctors say Forrest’s asthma may subside as he gets older and his lungs and airways grow with him, for now he’s made peace with working around his condition. 

“It doesn’t stop him; he just deals with it,” says Jessie. “I think it probably helps that his sister has serious allergies and has to carry an Epi­ Pen. It’s like that’s her thing, and asthma is his thing, and we don’t make it a drama.”

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Because asthma tends to run in families, Jessie is well aware that her youngest child, Denver, who was born in February 2024, could develop the condition as well. Although neither she nor Eric ever had asthma, Sydney had a mild version as a child. And doctors believe that asthma is linked to allergies (like Vivianne’s) and eczema (which both Forrest and Denver have dealt with) because all three involve inflammation. 

“We’ll see,” says Jessie. “Denver is right about at that age where they get a little more active, so we’ll see how his breathing does. His eczema is the worst I’ve seen in any of the children, and again, they’re all tied together, so it might be something he has to deal with too. To be honest, I worry about it for him.”

But whatever comes, the Deckers are confident they can deal with it as a family. 

“The kids are very supportive of each other,” says Jessie. “Vivi is so motherly and nurturing. And little Eric is such a good big brother. He sees Forrest in the halls at school, and they give each other fist bumps. They look out for each other.”

While both Mom and Dad have multiple career irons in the fire — Jessie, who first hit the charts with the single “Wanted” in 2009, is planning new music in addition to expanding her kitchenware and Kittenish fashion lines, while Eric has been involved in competitive pickleball — they both make sure their primary focus is on family. 

“We are super busy with the kids,” says Jessie. “Vivi’s gymnastics keep us crazy busy. Little Eric will start middle school football. I’m going on tour next fall, but I’ll only do like two-day weekends where I’ll go and come back home. I don’t want to be away from the kids that long. We just love being home.”