We grieved our daughter's CF diagnosis: 'We are incredibly grateful for the medications, but they have significant side effects'

Hazel Keller, 4, has cystic fibrosis, and while the prognosis has improved, the lung condition is limiting. Her mother Joanne has mourned the life her daughter won’t have

Amy Keller, Hazel and her mother Joanne Keller. Picture Brendan Gleeson

Hazel Keller is four years old and, according to her mother, Joanne, “is a firecracker”. She loves books, music, arts and crafts, baking, dancing, wildlife and could quote any line from the television show Bluey: In short, she’s a busy, animated girl, who “loves hard and thinks deeply”.

She also has cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic condition that affects the lungs, digestive system, and other organs. Although it presents some limitations, thanks to advances in medicine it does not have the same implications as it did in the past.