Joy, oh joy!

It was a good day already – I exercised, went to my favourite food store, and got the Christmas tree up and decorated (it usually occurs over two days), even trying it in a different corner of the room.

But the best part of the day was finding out that our national pharmaceutical buyer will now fund Trikafta, a treatment for cystic fibrosis. My teenage niece has CF, and although she’s been doing okay, each time we see her there is clearly more damage to her lungs. This drug effectively stops that, or at least slows it down. It is said to add at least 27 years to a CF sufferer’s life expectancy. Never has my category “Life” been more appropriate.

It gives my niece the prospect of a relatively normal life, one when she can study, have a job, be a taxpayer, have relationships and children, travel. For her, and all the CF sufferers here in NZ, and their family and friends who love them, it is the best Christmas gift imaginable.

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