A FATHER whose 19-year-old daughter died from cystic fibrosis says a cure needs to be found now for the debilitating disease.

Trevor Jones said the courage his daughter Emma found to fight the terminal genetic condition was inspirational but also heartbreaking.

Mr Jones, of Abbeyfields Close, Netley Abbey, said: "She always faced it with a smile and took it all in her stride. I don't know how she did it. I couldn't have coped with it like her. She was utterly amazing."

Emma was diagnosed with the disease at just ten months old. But despite the need for twice-daily physiotherapy, constant dependency on antibiotics and in her final months being confined to a wheelchair, she stayed positive throughout.

Mr Jones said: "She made sure she fought it throughout, all the way.

"It was a privilege to know her. She was an absolute joy.

"Given what she was going through herself she always had time for others and was always there with her cheeky grin and sunny smile."

Emma, a big animal lover, was a talented art student at Itchen College before having to give up the course due to her deteriorating condition. Her mother Helen was her full-time carer with help from her father, and brother Ian, 21.

Emma, who was not well enough to have the heart and lung transplant that could have saved her life, died on Septem-ber 22 after being overcome by the condition, that also caused her stomach problems and, in the later stages, arthritis.

Mr Jones, 57, said: "We need to do more to find a cure for this terrible disease. We need to support the research."

CYSTIC FIBROSIS FACTS:

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the UK's most common life-threatening,

inherited disease.

Cystic fibrosis affects more than 7,500 people in the UK. Of the people with CF, 50 per cent are under 15 and 70 per cent are under 20.

In the UK, 2.3 million people carry the faulty CF gene - one-quarter of the population. If both parents are carriers of the faulty gene, there is a one in four chance with every pregnancy that their child will have

cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis affects vital organs in the body, especially the lungs and digestive system, clogging them with sticky mucus, which makes it difficult to breathe and digest food.

Each week five babies are born with cystic fibrosis.

Each week three young lives are lost to cystic fibrosis.

Average life expectancy for someone with CF is 31 years.

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust needs to raise £5m every year to fund its vital work. It funds research aimed at understanding, treating and curing cystic fibrosis.

To find out more, or to donate to the charity, contact: 020 8464 7211 or log on to www.cftrust.org.uk

Source: Cystic Fibrosis Trust