If you've been affected by the issues raised in this film, please browse these websites and literature for help and support.
Cystic Fibrosis Trust
www.cftrust.org.uk
Works to improve the lives of people with CF, raise the profile of CF and fund research into a cure. For information and advice call 0845 859 1000 (local rate , Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm) or go to their website.
Cystic Fibrosis Medicine
www.cysticfibrosismedicine.com/
Contains a large collection of articles on cystic fibrosis as well as related links, two forums, a chatroom and a drug database.
Patient UK
www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/27000674/
Facts about cystic fibrosis.
Breathe On
www.breatheon.org.uk/
A charity which helps families with children on long-term ventilation (LTV).
Whatever medical condition your child has, Contact a Family (www.cafamily.org.uk) can provide support, advice and information and can also put families in touch with each other. Call the helpline 0808 808 3555 or Textphone for people with hearing difficulties on 0808 808 3556 (both free, Mondays - Fridays 10am-4pm, Monday evenings 5.30 – 7.30pm).
There’s also a website enabling secure linking between parents of disabled children in the UK and internationally at (www.makingcontact.org).
Doctors have found that quite young children respond far better to treatment, even major surgery, when they are fully informed and make the decision themselves whether to proceed or not. Their views are respected and parents are helped to deal with their decision. There’s a lot of useful information for children and young people up to 18 on the Great Ormond Street website (www.childrenfirst.nhs.uk).
Reading
Alex's autobiography, A Passion for Living, is published by Hodder this September (2009).
The Stones Applaud: How Cystic Fibrosis Shaped My Childhood (Hardcover) by Teresa Anne Mullin (Providence House Publishers, 2007)
Buy this book
Living on Borrowed Time: Life with Cystic Fibrosis (Paperback) by Debbie Pitts (Unknown, 2007)
Buy this book
Taking Cystic Fibrosis to School ('Special Kids in School' Series) (Paperback) by Cynthia S. Henry and Tom Dineen (JayJo Books, 2000)
Buy this book
Understanding Cystic Fibrosis. A Useful Guide for Families and Patients. (Paperback) by Karen Hopkin (University Press of Mississippi, 1998)
Buy this book
Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third-party sites
