Big Brother star Reggie Bird has shared another update about her 13-year-old son, who has been in hospital since December.
Lucas lives with the incurable condition cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs, digestive system and reproductive system.
He was admitted to hospital after contracting a cough in December that he has been unable to shake.
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On March 8, Bird revealed he had been admitted due to the “s*** cough (he has had) since Christmas”.
“We’ve done everything possible to try to get on top of it!” she wrote at the time.
“But it’s not shifting, so (he) will be going in for a tune-up and have a PICC line inserted where strong IVs will be pumped into his body for two weeks or more,” she said of the thin tube inserted into a vein to provide necessary fluids.
On Wednesday, Bird shared another update from Queensland Children’s Hospital, saying Lucas had another PICC line inserted.
She said it “all went well”.
Bird, who won Big Brother in 2003 and 2022, had a “special visitor” — Big Brother star “Farmer Dave” Graham.
On Sunday, Bird shared another update, saying Lucas had now been transferred to Gold Coast Hospital.
“Hey everyone just an update for those concerned about Lucas — he’s been transferred down to the Gold Coast Hospital where his dad is with him 🤗,” she said, sharing a screenshot from a FaceTime call with Lucas.
“He’s doing fine, just in for a tune-up, nothing to be concerned about…
“It’s normal for those living with cystic fibrosis to have an admission plenty of times during their lives.
“This gets them back on track, it’s like having a grease and oil for your car 🚗.”
Fans said it was “fantastic news”.
“Great news, Reggie all the very best ❤️,” one said.
Bird has been using her platform to advocate for more donations toward treatment and research into cystic fibrosis, to one day put an end to the “ongoing” disorder.
Lucas was diagnosed when he was just a baby via a standard heel-prick test which all babies undergo.
“We found out in a horrible way — we got a letter in the mail,” she told 7NEWS.com.au in 2023, adding the letter simply stated: “There is something wrong with your baby.”
“Then I had a list of about 30 different illnesses, and fibrosis was on there, and I just thought, ‘Oh no’.”
Bird was familiar with cystic fibrosis, having a family friend who was battling the disorder.
“When they told us that it was cystic fibrosis it just broke our hearts,” she said.
“It’s a lung disease but it affects the whole body — the sinuses, their liver, their breathing, pancreas, the digestive system …it’s all up the s***.
“Mucus sits in the lungs which is why they have to have physiotherapy every day to try to remove that.”
People with CF “are not allowed to be near each other”, a situation explored in the Hollywood blockbuster movie Five Feet Apart.
“As a kid, never being able to be with other kids with CF is hard,” Reggie said.
“They are separated to stop the spread of catching bugs that they have.
“When we go to the hospital for his clinics, the minute we walk in the door, you mask up and you’re put into separate rooms.
“There are all these different rooms. You just wait in there and the dietitians, physios, doctors all come to you — so you’re not spreading potential bugs.”
Bird said Lucas is constantly in and out of hospital, calling it “mentally draining for him”.
The reality star said the average person generally does not register the importance of their breathing.
But for someone with CF, they have to do “everything they can to keep themselves healthy and alive”.
“It’s ongoing, it’s endless.”
Keeping positive through all the hospital visits, medications and unknowns, Reggie said: “You can’t let it beat you so you’ve always got to try and be one step ahead.
“You have to be on top of it all the time you can’t be lazy … or you’ll end up in hospital.”
Bird is using her voice to raise awareness for this heartbreaking condition.
“The research gets no government funding, it’s all donations,” she said.
Reggie will appear on Cystic Fibrosis Community Care’s live podcast for 65 Roses Day (May 26) – visit CF Month to learn how you can get involved or donate.