Heysham dad's groundbreaking drug treatment gives him chance to see 'miracle baby' grow up

Dave Fisher was born with cystic fibrosis (CF), and in 2017, at the age of just 31, he was given the devastating news that he had between six and 18 months to live.

But now, Dave has been given a second chance, after being picked as one of only four people living with CF to trial a groundbreaking new drug.

Within minutes, both Dave - now 34 - and his wife Sarah could see the difference it was making - and now a consultant has said his stabilised condition means he should see his seven-month-old daughter grow up.

Sarah gave birth to the couple's 'little miracle baby' in December - a daughter they never thought they'd be able to have, and the final addition to the family, alongside Sarah's three sons, Tyler, 18, Harley, 13, and 10-year-old Corey.

The family is now looking forward to a brighter future after a traumatic last few years.

Dave had been seriously ill throughout winter 2017, when his lung function plummeted to just 18 per cent of what an average healthy male without CF would be expected to have.

However, after doctors gave him his devastating prognosis, he defied the odds and went on to have a full year with a stable lung function of 24 per cent.

And so, the couple decided to go through a gruelling IVF process on the NHS.

"I didn't want to not have Dave's child and not have the chance to have a little piece of him in the world," Sarah said. "I wanted his memory to carry on."

After a whirlwind few months, the couple discovered Sarah was expecting in April 2019.

"Neither of us could believe it," she said. "Because of everything that's gone before, we are both pre-conditioned to getting bad news.

"We are always expecting the worst outcome, probably because it's a defence mechanism."

The pregnancy was not without its turmoil, however, with Dave's condition worsening and his lung function dropping to just 14 per cent. He spent around a quarter of the pregnancy in hospital in Leeds.

"He was gravely ill," Sarah, 36, said. "At one point I envisaged raising the baby by myself.

"But he seems to get a second spurt of energy that kicks in when he needs it most - I don't know how he does it."

Following an emergency caesarean, Bonnie Hope Elora Fisher was born on December 15 at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

At this stage, Dave was still so weak he could barely change a nappy without getting out of breath.

"I was wondering how we would manage but we got through it," Sarah said.

Dave was taken into hospital once again in January, and, due to the gravity of his condition, consultants were able to apply on compassionate grounds to trial what was then an unlicensed drug - Kaftrio - a new triple therapy which Dave had never thought he would be alive to try.

"Dave's body was basically dying," Sarah said. "His veins had shut down and they were only allowed to issue the drug on the proviso that it was the last resort."

Within minutes of taking the drug, Sarah could see a difference in Dave's breathing.

"He said he felt warm and like he could take a breath," she said. "There were tears in his eyes. After about 10 minutes he could do a little jog on the spot.

"After three weeks he could walk up the stairs without having to stop half way, and he's now able to do a little bit of work in the garden without it finishing him off.

"The extra energy it has given him has made a massive difference.

"Within a week he was up from 17 per cent to 28 per cent lung function, and he is now up to 34 per cent, which he hadn't seen for about seven years."

Dave will continue taking the drug indefinitely as a course of three tablets a day.

Kaftrio was officially licensed in the UK earlier this month, and it is hoped around 90 per cent of CF patients could now benefit from it.

"What this drug has done for Dave is amazing," said Sarah, who is Dave's full-time carer. "He is remaining stable for the first time in his life, and there's a chance his lung function will increase a little bit more.

"You will never get a cure for CF because you can't alter someone's DNA, but this drug is phenomenal, there's never been anything like it.

"One of his consultants told him he will now have the opportunity to see his daughter grow up and get married.

"He still has end stage lung disease, but I have got my husband back and we have got a future. No one is guaranteed a tomorrow, life is short and you have to do as much as you can when you can.

"I still pinch myself today that he is still here and in decent health, and we have been able to complete our family. I wouldn't have envisaged how things have turned out.

"With Bonnie we have got the next bit to our journey, which is really nice. We call her our miracle baby because of everything that has happened.

"She is our little ray of sunshine after a storm."