Emmerdale’s Laura Norton and Mark Jordon have made a heartfelt plea to support their children.
As we’ve previously reported, the acting stars, known for their Emmerdale roles as Kerry Wyatt and Daz Spencer on the ITV hit soap, have two young children together - Jesse and Ronnie. Both youngsters have a rare genetic disease affecting both of their children.
The condition, known as usher syndrome, is a rare genetic disease that affects both hearing and vision, requiring both children to wear hearing aids for the rest of their lives and potentially deal with sight loss into their teenage years. Today, the couple appeared on Channel 4 programme Steph's Packed Lunch to raise awareness as well as appeal for government support.
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Laura said: “The more aware you are, the more you talk about it and the more funding comes. We’ve met some amazing people across this journey.”
The couple have worked with MP Alex Norris and charitable organisations in their campaign. Laura and Mark are hoping money can be spent on genetic testing and potential treatment.
“If we can get the money, which is doable over the next six to 10 years, it is within reach,” Laura appealed, during the interview with host Steph McGovern.
“Treatment is so close, certainly in our children’s lifetime.” Laura asked for the public’s help to ‘bang the drum’.
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Former Heartbeat star Mark confessed the initial usher syndrome diagnosis came as a shock.
“Nobody we’d talked to, our friends and family, had heard of this,” Mark said. “We want them (Jesse and Ronnie) to be the most perfect thing to look after them all of their lives.”
Laura praised her partner Mark for an idea he had explaining to the children why the couple went public on their diagnosis - which they’ll explain to the youngsters as they grow older.
Laura explained: “Mark had this beautiful idea of writing a letter, after we went public, to make them aware.”
The couple said during their journey they have connected by many families who have faced similar challenges through usher syndrome. We will continue to bring your more on Laura and Mark's campaign.
As ever, we'll continue to bring you the big Emmerdale news about what is happening in the village and away from it. You can visit our Emmerdale homepage to find the latest gossip about the soap and its stars.
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