St. Louis Rams linebacker Larry Grant has never known a life without asthma, but that didn’t stop him from accomplishing his dream of becoming a professional athlete.

Diagnosed as an infant, Grant has been on some form of asthma medication, whether it’s an inhaler pump or other treatments his entire life. While the medicine has certainly been beneficial, it’s been his desire, determination and overall fitness that has gotten him where he is today.

“I stayed on a pump and I stayed on treatments, and my immune system and my body just kept getting stronger and stronger,” Grant said. “I was able to handle doing a lot more running and physical activity. I still can’t be around smoke and all that stuff, but I was able to handle it.”

As a child, grant would have to frequently take breaks from playing sports, learning to listen to his body to know exactly how much he could or couldn’t do physically. As he’s grown older, his body has begun to adapt to his asthma symptoms and he’s been able to keep it under control.

As a child, I may have had to stop for a minute, but I was a pretty active kid and pretty hard-headed, so it wasn’t going to stop me,” Grant said. “I did have an incident last year where I had to step to the sideline, but I think I haven’t had many problems over the last couple years, because my body has clearly adapted to the routine. Everything’s been fine. “

For the Asthma Team™ members out there suffering from the disease on a daily basis, Grant says the best advice he can give is to keep going and stay active.

“The healthier you are, the better you’ll be able to control it,” Grant said. “Stay active and keep doing what you’re doing, and make sure you have your asthma pump and a treatment somewhere close if you need it.”