Ashley Dyer was just a baby when she was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a multi-organ disease, primarily affecting the lungs and digestive system, characterized by a build-up of thick mucus in the lungs.
In mid-July, 1991, when she was just 6 years old, Ashley appeared on the cover of Maclean’s astride her bike, smiling. “A genetic revolution” was written in bright-white type. “Why Ashley Dyer hopes to survive cystic fibrosis. The promise of new ways to treat fatal diseases.” Researchers had identified the gene responsible for CF, and the scientific community was ecstatic, certain even, that soon the disease would be annihilated.
Unfortunately, 19 years later, there is still no cure for CF, but Ashley Dyer, a patient of The Montreal Children’s Hospital, is still fighting the disease. Today, several months after undergoing a double-lung transplant, Ashley has regained strength after a bout of health scares, and hopes to live another 20 years to continue being mom to her daughter Leila, 2.
