‘Emmerdale’ stars Laura Norton and Mark Jordon have told how their two kids have the same rare genetic condition.
Laura Norton and Mark Jordon have told how their kids have the same rare genetic condition
The engaged couple revealed their baby daughter Ronnie, four months, and son Jessie, two, both suffer from Usher syndrome, which impacts hearing and vision and means they might need to wearing hearing aids for the rest of their lives.
The 39-year-old actress - best known for playing Kerry Wyatt in the long-running series - admitted she was “in tears” thinking there could be something the matter with her little ones when her boy failed a hearing test in 2021.
In a joint interview with her husband, Laura told Hello! magazine: “My intuition told me there was a serious problem and I was in tears at the thought of it.”
Mark - who met Laura when he was starring on ‘Heartbeat’, before having two stints as Daz Spencer in 'Emmerdale' alongside her - revealed how they “agonised” with the news of the double diagnosis, but have opted not to share the news with their kids until are old enough to “understand”.
The 58-year-old actor said: “We've agonised about doing this before we've even told our children about their condition ... we're going to write them a letter to explain why we did this and show them when they're old enough to understand.”
Laura said: “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.”