The small box full of promises arrived at Jessica Anderson’s home on her 31st birthday. A little bigger than a postcard, it was white with green lettering and navy and fuchsia flourishes. She opened it and pulled out a card with pills arrayed in plastic bubbles, coral ones for the morning, baby-blue for the evening.
The culmination of decades of research, a reservoir of hope for thousands, these oblong tablets were supposed to transform her life, a life circumscribed by illness and the specter of early death.
advertisement
You could say that Jessie had been sick since before she was born. A bowel obstruction detected on her mother’s ultrasound led the obstetrician to surmise the baby was likely to have cystic fibrosis, a genetic illness that impairs breathing and digestion.
Get unlimited access to award-winning journalism and exclusive events.
Subscribe Log In
Previous article：
How to save health care price transparency rules
Next article： Psychedelics group wrestles with new pharma identity
Next article： Psychedelics group wrestles with new pharma identity
