Patients in Ballymena offered support from TV’s Dr Hilary Jones

Dr Hilary, who regularly appears on ITV’s Daybreak and This Morning programmes, will host an online consultation for sufferers of vasculitis, an incurable disease which inflames and destroys blood vessels. It affects one in 30,000 people in the UK.

Organised by the Lauren Currie Twilight Foundation, the online conference will be held on Wednesday, February 15 at 5pm. The conference is free to take part in and family and friends of those affected by the disease are also welcome.

The Lauren Currie Twilight Foundation was set up in memory of Lauren Currie by her parents Grant and Adrienne whose aim is to raise awareness and funds for medical research into this incurable disease as well as providing support for those living with the condition. Lauren sadly died from vasculitis when she was 15, tragically just 48 hours after she was diagnosed.

The third in a series of online consultations organised by the charity, aimed at bringing support to sufferers of the disease, is also open to local GPs who wish learn more about early diagnosis of the disease.

Grant Currie, said: “This is a great opportunity for those affected by vasculitis to be able to ask questions to our guest speaker, Dr Hilary Jones. If just one person benefits from this online conference it will be worthwhile as it could make a huge difference to these patients’ lives.

“Sadly, Lauren was diagnosed too late to benefit from such an event – she lost her fight for life less than 48 hours after her diagnosis - but we hope for sufferers living with this condition, we can provide a place for advice, support and guidance.

“Vasculitis is still a relatively unknown disease and research into it is still at a very early stage. As such a rare disease, researchers are dependent on the likes of Lauren’s foundation to partly fund research in the UK.”

For free registration for the online conference visit www.thelaurencurrietwilightfoundation.org