Story
Laura lives with mitochondrial disease - a debilitating and cruel illness where her body doesn't produce enough energy. It's progressive, there is no treatment and no cure .. but her mission is to raise as much awareness and funds for research as she can, with help from others.
I am raising money in memory of Laura Hunt, who I was incredibly lucky to call my best friend for over seven years. As we approach what would have been her 30th birthday on July 21st 2026, I want to both raise awareness of mitochondrial disease as well as getting Laura's story out there. This is all in the hope of raising money to help towards both treatments and research with the aim to one day find a cure for this cruel illness.
Incredibly sadly, Laura died on 27th June 2021. It's her family's wish for her mission to continue - as a tribute and legacy for a beautiful young lady.
Here is Laura's story:
Hello. I’m Laura, 24, and I was born and raised in Northwich, Cheshire where I live with my mum Dawn. I have an older brother, Sam. Apart from being a bit late with the odd milestone as a baby, I was fine health-wise but as I got towards school age I increasingly bumped into things and my eyesight was found to be really poor. Severe optic nerve damage was identified as the problem, but there was no explanation for its cause. I also walked a little awkwardly which was put down to my sight restrictions.
As I got older, I struggled more and more physically. At the age of twelve I needed to start using a wheelchair occasionally for any extended walking, and gradually more and more. Loads of tests were done to try to get to the bottom of my health issues, but I remained a ‘lovely mystery’ as my neurologist put it!
After leaving education I enjoyed being an intern – with support – doing office and administration work. I loved keeping active and with the help of ‘Wheelies’, a fantastic charity based near us, went on several sailing adventures.
On the third trip in February 2018 to Cape Verde, I suddenly started having major seizures. This led to being in hospital for a whole six months before they were under control with medication, first abroad and then at home.
It was a very difficult and scary time for us all during which I lost my sight completely, practically overnight. It also affected my speech and left me permanently in need of a wheelchair. The seizures took out a lot of strength on my left side, which is frustrating as I’m left-handed.
New blood tests finally established that I have a form of mitochondrial disease. It’s caused by a fault with the OPA1 gene. The diagnosis brought me under the care of the specialist mito team in Oxford.
My passion now is listening to Radio 1. I have a broad taste in music from Rihanna (who I’ve been lucky enough to meet) to the Arctic Monkeys, Ed Sheeran, Gerry Cinnamon… to name just a few.
Thanks for reading my story.
Thank you so much for choosing to support Laura’s charity. More research into mitochondrial disease could be the key to unlocking so many other illnesses, not just mito.
For Laura and everyone affected...
LET'S PUT SOME ENERGY INTO MITOCHONDRIAL DISEASE RESEARCH!