Daily Express

Please let us pray for my brave Nicole

- By Chris Riches By Chris Riches

A SUPERFIT cystic fibrosis sufferer spoke of his “tremendous honour” yesterday after he picked up an OBE from PrinceWill­iam.

Josh Llewellyn-Jones, 32, received the gong at Buckingham Palace for raising £800,000 for charity and helping CF awareness. Josh, of Cardiff, who completed a 381-mile triathlon, said: “I had a great chat with Prince William.

“He pinned the medal on my left breast and I puffed my chest out with pride. It’s the only time I’ve been properly nervous.”

A YOUNG woman who finally got access to cystic fibrosis drugs earlier this week was last night in intensive care – as her boyfriend begged for “prayers.”

For months we have urged US firm Vertex and doctors to help Nicole Adams, 28, get super future pill Trikafta at Belfast City Hospital as she has 13 per cent lung function.

Feared

Instead on Monday medics gave Nicole, of Newtownabb­ey, County Antrim, the lesser pill Symkevi as it is now freely available in the UK on the NHS.

But the tablets are feared to have caused so much mucus, blocking her airways.

Worried boyfriend Ciaran has pleaded for prayers – as CF-campaigner­s urge for her to get unlicensed Trikafta compassion­ately.

Ciaran said: “Nicole’s body has done a U-Turn the past few hours and has now been taken to intensive care. Could I ask for just one thing? Just two minutes of your time. A prayer.”

Friend Jen Banks, 34 – whose two-year-old, Lorcan, has CF, is also campaignin­g for Nicole.

On Monday Nicole, who cannot take Orkambi, was delighted to be given Symkevi to try. She said: “Its been a few scary weeks but things are going to change now.”

The hospital said it cannot comment on individual patients, but

Vertex said: “We take all compassion­ate use requests very seriously and are working to assess these as quickly as possible once received from a patient’s doctor.”

 ??  ?? Nicole fights for life and, inset, with her new pills on Monday
Nicole fights for life and, inset, with her new pills on Monday
 ??  ?? Proud... Josh at Palace yesterday
Proud... Josh at Palace yesterday

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