West Kelowna resident Nicole Stringer with her husband in Kelowna.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ brandileephotography

A West Kelowna woman with cystic fibrosis is taking on an important new role she never thought was possible.

Last year Nicole Stringer went from very sick with cystic fibrosis to embracing an exciting, healthy lifestyle because of a new drug called Trikafta.

READ MORE: New drug gives West Kelowna woman with cystic fibrosis a future

“I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when I was two,” she said. “I’ve spent most of my life in a hospital hooked up to oxygen, trying to breathe.”

This month Stringer became a mom for the first time, welcoming an 8 lb, 11 oz baby boy into the world. The pregnancy was normal and both mom and baby are healthy, something she calls a miracle.

“It’s a feeling I never thought I’d have,” Stringer said. “Going from being so sick in the hospital to being in the hospital having a baby, I can’t even explain how I felt. It was the most surreal thing, the fact he and I both came out of this healthy.”

West Kelowna resident Nicole Stringer's first baby born on Jan. 6, 2022.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Nicole Stringer

Stringer said she and her husband tried for years to get pregnant. After being on the new drug for seven months and with the help of fertility treatments, they were able to make their dream of being parents come true.

“I actually think being pregnant and being on Trikafta helped my cystic fibrosis,” she said. “It gave me the energy I never had before. I felt the best I had in years. My child could grow up never seeing his mother as sick as I used to be. I could live to meet my grandchildren.”

Stringer said she was worried about potential effects the drug could have on her baby’s liver after he was born, but the baby was cleared from all potential drug effects.

A cystic fibrosis sufferer and mother in Kamloops started taking the drug two weeks ago, and is already noticing positive health effects.

Katelyn Faulkner, originally from West Kelowna and a friend of Stringer, is hoping the drug will improve her life as she raises her daughter.

“About three hours after taking my first dose, I noticed a change in cough, and had a lot of sputum production over the next two days,” she said. “By the third day my lungs felt totally clear, and by day 10 I felt an increase in overall energy levels. I’ll have a few tests in the coming days to see if the drug is effecting any liver enzymes and how much lung function has increased.”

Katelyn Faulkner is a Kamloops mom who suffers from cystic fibrosis.

Image Credit: Submitted/ Katelyn Faulkner Photography

Faulkner was diagnosed with the disease when she was three months old. Growing up, she had recurring chest infections and was hospitalized as a teenager. She requires IVs for lung maintenance every other year and intermittent oral antibiotics to control chest infections about four times a year.

“I developed CF-related diabetes in my mid-twenties and have a bacteria permanently in my lungs, so I also take intermittent inhaled meds to keep that at bay,” she said. “The disease also affects the sinuses and causes nasal polyps. I’ve had a few surgeries to remove those. After I had my daughter I struggled with coughing up blood which was scary.”

READ MORE: Kelowna woman trying to ensure seniors in care are treated better than her mother was

Faulkner heard about Trikafta a couple of years ago when it became accessible to patients in the U.S.

Stringer was able to access it earlier because she was part of the clinical drug trial.

The young mothers grew up together often attending awareness walks for cystic fibrosis together.

“Nicole has always been so open and honest with the public about her journey and she helps so many others feel not so alone in their own journey with chronic illness,” Faulkner said. “Her story gives me hope for a brighter, longer future with a lot less anxiety surrounding my health.”

Stringer said she is excited for her friend.

“We have been trying to get her this drug for a while,” she said. “It’s all we would talk about. The fact that she can have it, be the mom she is and be able to stay healthy for her little girl is the best news ever. I wanted nothing more for her.”

Trikafta was approved for sale by Health Canada on June 18, 2021. It is not accessible to all who need it until is funded by provincial drug plans and private insurers. In September, 2021, Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan announced they’ll pay to provide eligible patients with the drug, which costs roughly $300,000 per patient.

As of October, 2021, Trikafta is accessible to all those who qualify in B.C.

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