Laura Norton and Mark Jordon are continuing their career in the Dales, but off-screen the couple have been grappling with their own health struggles within their own family
Two Emmerdale stars have opened up about their children’s diagnoses for an incurable condition.
Laura Norton and Mark Jordon have been entertaining audiences for years as they star in the ITV soap. Laura is best known for playing the role of Kerry Wyatt, while Mark’s most well-known role is Daz Spencer on the long-running show.
However, while the couple are used to gripping storylines on the set of Emmerdale, the pair are now in the midst of their own plot off-screen. It comes after their children were diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that currently has no cure.
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Both children suffer from Usher syndrome – a degenerative condition that can affect a patient’s vision and hearing. Symptoms often include the victim going deaf or triggering hearing loss, while it can also lead to other diseases including retinitis pigmentosa.
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Currently, there is no cure for Usher syndrome, but the condition can be treated with medication to help regulate the speed of progression. Speaking about the impact of the disease on their children, Laura told the Express that the couple are already making plans to adjust their lives for the kids’ health woes.
“We’re loath to start thinking too hard about what we will have to do in the future,” she explained. “‘What kind of furniture will we have to move? What extra help will they need?’ – until it gets closer to the time because we’ve got about a decade until we need to think about it actively.”
She added: “You make the decision not to pre-empt it too much because if it’s in our psyche, it becomes in their psyche and at the moment, we just want to enjoy them and have them be fearless.” Currently, both of Laura and Mark’s kids have 20/20 vision, and often see ophthalmologists for regular check-ups.
Laura is trying to keep an optimistic outlook on things, and they are hopeful about the future for them and their children. This comes despite the issues and anxiety they face as parents.
“Mark describes it sometimes like a ticking clock, every second counts,” the Kerry Wyatt star insisted. “You do hope everything’s going to be OK, but we’ve met so many people with the condition who are absolutely smashing life.
“They’re not people who are debilitated,” she said. “They live life, have careers and families, and do the same things as everybody else.”
Emmerdale legends Mark and Laura first met on the set of the ITV soap back in 2014, and started dating one year later. Mark popped the question to Laura on New Year’s Day in 2019, with the pair welcoming their two children – son Jesse and daughter Ronnie – in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
