When I caught my breath within two hours, I kept crying
she says.
Never before had she been able to breathe so freely and feel so healthy.
This treatment has been available in Canada since April 2021 and its cost – $25,000 – is reimbursed by the New Brunswick government.
The drug Trikafta, first approved by Food and pharmaceutical administration American in 2019, relieves people with cystic fibrosis of many symptoms, but does not cure this disease.
years old “,”text”:”As if I was 40 years old “”>As if I was 40 years old
Nonetheless, in the eyes of Mrs. Legros, this is a wonder cure
.years instead of 56years old, that’s great.”,”text”:”I feel like I’m 40 instead of 56, that’s great.”}}”>I feel like I’m 40 instead of 56, so that’s great.
This genetic disease, which affects one in 3,600 children in the country according to Cystic Fibrosis Canada, is manifested by respiratory problems, a persistent cough accompanied by thick mucus and difficulty absorbing nutrients.
Without this drug he probably would have had to resort to a lung transplant to hopefully be able to maintain a certain quality of life. My lung function was deteriorating to the point that I could no longer do the activities I used to
explains.
A new life
But, with drugs, he can afford to do things he hadn’t even considered before. She started dancing. Laugh without fear of being out of breath. She has more energy.
All of this progress, however, comes with new challenges. Previously, he could eat as much as he wanted without risking excessive weight gain, an effect of this energy-consuming disease.
For the first time in my life, I fill up
says Mrs. Legros, who explains that now she has to be careful about what she eats.
He also has a constant need to catch up with the lost time
or do what he never could have done during all those years when he felt less well.
New challenges, of course, but for the better, he admits.
An opportunity for the younger generations
The young, the children of today who come into the world with cystic fibrosis, will not go through what the rest of us have gone through
he says smiling.
This brighter future delighted Shippagan’s Maryse Haché, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jasmine Roussel, has cystic fibrosis.
His body has been free from the effects of this disease for decades. You therefore have fewer traces of the disease.
Maryse Haché and her daughter Jasmine (archive).
Photo courtesy
He feels he has much more energy. She doesn’t know how to explain it, but she feels that she breathes better
she says.
Despite this encouraging news, Ms. Haché has some reservations. After all, this drug is still very new and its side effects are still poorly measured.
But this scientific progress is equally summed up in a new hope, which also takes the form of more ambitious goals.
I am convinced that in the years to come we will find a complete cure for cystic fibrosis.
says Lisa Legros confidently.
With information from Kristina Cormier
