Laura Norton was left in tears over the thought of passing on a rare and incurable disease to both of her children.
The Emmerdale star – who is best known for her role as Kerry Wyatt’s on the soap – is currently appearing on ITV’s reality series Drama Queens on Wednesday (April 10), she will be spread awareness for Usher syndrome and hopes to one day find a cure for her babies.
She shares two children with her on-screen co-star and fiancé Mark Jordon, Jesse, two, and Ronnie who is nearly one. They had no idea that as parents were both gene carriers for the disease.
The TV star’s two children have now both been diagnosed with the rare condition that affects hearing, sight and balance. The new docu-series explores what life is like for the family of four and how it has impacted their lives.
In an interview with Hello magazine, Laura detailed the moment she realised both Jesse and Ronnie had been handed the rare condition because of the gene pool she shared with her husband.
The actress explained: “My intuition told me there was a serious problem and I was in tears at the thought of it. Knowing that we’d passed this on to our son was heartbreaking.
“To watch our little boy enjoy the world around him yet know so much will be taken from him, was painful. I have something that I’m carrying now that we never had before and life is not what it once was… It’s heartbreaking,” Laura explained.
She added: “The scary thing for us was the unknown and does it stop them from doing things… There’s so much to think about.”
