Thanks to life-changing medication
the world’s highest mountain three years ago raised £80,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
But it was also a milestone in Nick’s personal battle. He said: “There were a couple of issues with oxygen but I got to the top. It was amazing.
“I felt a huge sense of relief and a huge sense of privilege at being at the top of the world, just me and a Sherpa friend.”
Backing our campaign to make another CF drug, Orkambi, freely available on the NHS, he said: “I feel lucky. But it’s no good me having the treatment if other people haven’t. So it is good what the Daily Express is doing.
“It would be great if your paper can continue to shine a spotlight on it so that the public understands.”
He added: “These drugs sound expensive, but when you factor in things like a person who can’t work and can’t pay taxes or for their own accommodation, that’s quite a large cost for the country. If you take a lot of that cost away through effective medication, it’s nowhere near as big a burden.”
Mr Talbot was diagnosed after falling chronically ill as a teenager and was not expected to survive.
But because he received Kalydeco he was able to fight back and continue his passion for sport.
He added: “If you’d met me before Kalydeco, I’d have been coughing quite a lot. I’d have lungs full of mucus, whereas now it is very different.”
He added: “It doesn’t cure it, but it helps improve the lungs’ function and protect them.”
His sister Emma, who also has CF, was once denied the drug after she moved to Scotland before it was freely available on the NHS.
But Mr Talbot added: “Eventually it became available to her as well, so we are both among the lucky ones.”