Gordon Brown's son has cystic fibrosis :(

[hulababy]

"Chancellor Gordon Brown has confirmed that his four-month-old son has been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. "

What a sad, stessful blow to come to them, especially having already experienced the tragic loss of their baby daughter 4 years ago

That is sad news, they must have had a ver traumatic time

They have been through so much.

i confess to being utterly ignorant about cystic fibrosis - anyone know what this will mean for him/them?

Information here

"Cystic Fibrosis is the UK's most common life-threatening, inherited disease and affects more than 7500 babies, children and young adults. Symptoms can include poor weight gain, troublesome coughs, repeated chest infections, salty sweat and abnormal stools.

Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects a number of organs in the body (especially the lungs and pancreas) by clogging them with thick, sticky mucus.

At present there is no cure for CF, but the faulty gene has been identified and doctors and scientists are working to find ways of repairing or replacing it. One of the main objectives of the CF Trust is to fund this work.

People with CF are living longer than ever before. Until the 1930s, the life expectancy of a baby with CF was only a few months. Today the average life expectancy for someone with CF is around 31 years."

very sad, very,very sad.

as a family - they have been through so much

here

oh no, how sad

am always struck by his natural smile when i see photos of him with his wife, and latterly with their baby

for reading about a young lady with CF, try www.pinkandsmiley.blogspot.com

she is in her 20's now, and waiting for a lung transplant.

I went to a charity event a few months ago organised by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust - it sounded like they were just starting to trial this gene therapy thing (sorry, not good with details but can probably find it somewhere). It sounded really very hopeful. But I imagine any sort of 'cure' is still years and years away.

Oh no! What a bloody tragedy for them. I will never forget his absolute transparent joy when his daughter was born and how destroyed he looked when she died. Now this. It really isn't fair. I feel quite shaken by this. My heart goes out to them.

People on here might call you depressing for posting this. Judging by some of the other posts.

gene therapy info - it does sound like it is a long time away from making a difference

my heart goes out to them too

Poor Browns. After everything they have been through.

I love Gordon Brown BTW. Make a top PM.

Very sad, though they are putting a good face on it, thinking positive etc. Dh's colleague's dd died of CF just a couple of weeks ago, at the age of 22yo.

Gordon Brown doesn't seem to have any luck does he?

Oh no My heart goes out to the Browns, they have been through so much already.

Oh no My heart goes out to the Browns, they have been through so much already.

Poor Gordon Brown and wife. Don't get much luck do they?

Heard about this on the radio. Didn't they loose a child before? Is this the 2nd child?

Poor baby

I recently read an article about the diet of adults with CF, was very interesting as I had no idea.

Their 1st child Jennifer was born prem and died at a few weeks (?) old. Thehn they had John who is 2 or 3, so this baby is their 3rd. How utterly tragic. Wonder if he will decide against running for PM with so much on their plate now and decide life really is too short? Being a politician takes you away from your family so much, let alone PM. This is terrible.