Laura's Story

Images captured by Natasha Dixon Photography

This is Tiny Light Laura. Described by her mother as ‘the perfect baby’, Laura isn’t even a year and has been sleeping through the night for ages! She is a good eater and a very happy girl. Her favorite person is her big sister, Cori.


Laura was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at a routine newborn screening when she was five weeks old. She is pancreatic insufficient. When Laura gets sick it can take her a long time to get over it because of the extra mucus built up in her bronchioles and her lungs.  While for the average person, mucus from a cough or cold will eventually break up, Laura requires physiotherapy for it to be broken up and expelled.
The diagnosis was devastating to Laura’s parents. While cystic fibrosis is the most common genetic disease, they knew little about it. The fact that they both carried the gene was shocking, especially since their first daughter was born healthy.


Through the whole journey, Laura has gone through treatment not letting anything bother her. She remains the happy baby that her parents like to brag about! They have an amazing support group in their family and Laura’s mother has recently met another cystic fibrosis mom and a few other moms that have children with different diagnoses.


They do fear for her future, as every case of cystic fibrosis is different. They cannot predict when or if she will have lung problems. For now they concentrate on maintaining her health and wishing for the best. “We hope that in her lifetime there is a cure developed. How amazing would that be?”


Story by Angela Stephen-Dewhurst