Two-time Big Brother Australia winner Regina Sorenson has taken to Instagram to commemorate Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, providing candid insight into the reality and hardships of individuals diagnosed with CF.
Regina, formerly known as Reggie Bird, has first-hand experience caring for someone with the debilitating disease, with her youngest child Lucas, 12, being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was one month old.
Regina is playing an important role in advocating for greater research into a cure for cystic fibrosis.
(Image: Instagram)There is currently no cure for cystic fibrosis, with individuals diagnosed having an average life expectancy of 37 years.
Lucas’ condition requires constant management, requiring frequent trips to the hospital to clear his lungs.
.jpg?resize=380%2C285)
.png?resize=380%2C285)
“This was one of our admissions when Lucas needed a tune up,” Regina wrote alongside a heartbreaking video of her son.
“A tune up is when your child gets very sick and has a wet cough and infection in their lungs and goes right downhill. They go under anaesthetic and a PICC line is put into their arm which goes up the arm and right up into their chest to pump strong antibiotics to kill the bugs. Tune ups are usually a two week stay in hospital,” she continued.
Lucas has sadly spent much of his childhood in hospital.
(Image: Instagram)The mother-of-two has continued to play an important role in raising awareness and providing an uncensored insight into the reality faced by not only those diagnosed with the disease, but also the anxiety and helplessness experienced by those caring for a loved one.
“My anxiety has gone through the roof,” she wrote on Instagram yesterday, with Lucas’ condition sadly deteriorating in recent days.
“He has endless medication every day to help him digest his food and to break down the mucous that sits in his lungs. He also has physiotherapy every day and twice a day when he gets sick,” Regina told Now to Love.
Regina and Lucas.
(Image: Instagram)Unfortunately, Regina has also faced tough times with her health, being diagnosed with endometriosis, Pyrrole disorder, and a heart condition that tragically caused her to suffer a stroke in 2017.
Regina was also diagnosed with a rare degenerative eye condition in 2008, causing her to lose 90% of her central vision.
“I’m now legally blind with an eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa. I only have nine degrees of central vision left, no peripheral, and no night vision,” she told Now to Love.
Regina with her children, Mia and Lucas.
(Image: Instagram)Regina’s resilience is admired by friends and fans, with the former TV personality telling Now to Love that despite her own struggles, her main priority is making sure that she’s always there for her son and daughter Mia, 15.
“It’s mentally and physically draining on Lucas so I have to stay strong for him,” she stated.
“I hope he will live past the 37 years of expected time.”
