Fears for daughter

From the archive, first published Thursday 19th Apr 2001.

A troubled mum from Cradley Heath is living in fear of losing her daughter to the same rare genetic disease that killed her husband.

Norma Mills lost husband Eric to nail patella syndrome last August, after the condition caused his kidneys to fail.

But now daughter Terresa is also showing signs of kidney failure with only 48 per cent of the organs working.

The 26-year-old has to have regular scans to keep check on her kidneys and Norma fears for her future as it has no known cure.

She said: "We are up and down from the hospital all the time, but with this condition you can be OK one minute and not the next.

"Terresa is like a walking time bomb - she could be terminal, but we just don't know."

The family, of Western Road, is spear-heading a campaign for more research into NPS, with all four of the couple's children and grandchild suffering from the disease.

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