The Irvine Family - Palmerston North
When Laura Irvine was just 32 weeks pregnant, one of her scans came back with some concerning signs. The midwife called for her to have an additional scan in Wellington, and then both her and her partner Josh to have blood tests, which came back as positive as carriers for cystic fibrosis (CF). From that point on Laura was aware that her unborn baby had a high chance of having the condition.
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited, lifelong condition that must be managed with medication and treatment. It is one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children in New Zealand, affecting not just the lungs but the liver and digestive system as well. Laura says, “we were shocked when we were first told. Like most couples, we expected a normal, healthy pregnancy.” Laura needed to be induced at Wellington Hospital, roughly two hours from their home in Palmerston North. “Ollie was born on the 26th of October 2023, and it was love at first sight,” Laura says, “as soon as he was earthside, the doctors started conducting tests to conclude whether he had cystic fibrosis. We had steeled ourselves for the likely outcome, but it was still tough to hear that he did indeed have CF. We then wanted to learn as much as we could about his treatment, to get as involved as possible.” 
On Ollie’s second day of life, he needed emergency surgery. His bowels were blocked with meconium resulting in a very bloated stomach. “He had a stoma bag until his bowels began working properly, when the surgery was reversed,” says Laura, “seeing your tiny baby be wheeled into theatre not once but twice was pretty scary. We just had to focus on the outcome knowing Ollie was in the best place to be fixed.”
When Ollie was born and again during his surgeries, Laura and Josh found solace at Ronald McDonald House in Wellington – just down the road from the hospital. In total they have stayed for 61 nights across three visits, and Laura has found the House to be “perfect in every way. It’s just across the road from the hospital and Ollie’s bedside – it took so much worry away about where we’d stay. I made quite a few late-night trips to see our boy.”
Laura and Josh found the staff and volunteers to be incredible, with Laura explaining, “it was obviously a really challenging time. The staff and other families staying at the House offered us so much support.” Leading up to Ollie’s first Christmas, Laura and Josh noticed the effort that staff put into decorating and thought it was “beautiful. They really helped us get into the festive spirit, despite what was happening. We would usually be winding down at that time of year to get ready for Christmas and catching up with our friends and family at the beach. RMHC really helped us to feel like we weren’t so far from home.”
Laura, Josh and Ollie are now back in Palmerston North enjoying spending time together – Ollie recently turned one, and loves going to the park, hanging out with friends and family and playing with their two cats, Evie and Bentley. Ollie will need lifelong medication and possibly treatments but all in all Ollie is a happy healthy little boy. The family have taken part in our end of year campaign, Season for Giving. We aim to support the roughly 1,000 families that will need us this Christmas period when their child is hospitalised. If you can donate any amount, big or small, please do so here.
