A new medication was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that offers hope to some cystic fibrosis sufferers.
From the time she was just a sweet 16-month-old, Johna Reynolds has been dealing with the life changing diagnosis of cystic fibrosis. She is now 10-years-old and she can pretty casually explain what that means. "Well there's a lot of mucous in your lungs, and you have to do extra stuff that regular people don't have to do," Reynolds said.
In the family pick-up truck, Johna and her mom Michele have to tote what looks like a pharmacy of inhalers, nebulizers, pills and even a vest that helps shake loose the life-threatening mucous that builds up in Johna's lungs.
In a matter of days though, a new pill will join the mix that could change everything. "Right now all that we've been able to do is treat the symptoms of CF whereas the new medicine, Kalydeco, is the first of its kind to work on a cellular level to kind of stop all these symptoms before they have a chance to start," Michele Reynolds said.
Reynolds hopes the new medicine will make her not have to do as many treatments and not have to go to the hospital as much.
The FDA just approved Kalydeco on January 21, and Johna is set to start taking the pills twice a day everyday beginning this week. And while the medication only promises to help cystic fibrosis sufferers who have what's called the G-551-D mutation like Johna does, it's still hope. "If it stops CF in its tracks then it's never going to be worse than it is now, and when she's healthy she has very little cough, she's active. She can play with her friends. She can do everything, and it would give her a chance at a normal life," Michele Reynolds said.
Michele hopes it won't just provide a normal life for her daughter, but also a longer one too.
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Information courtesy of NBC News.
