Lori Jacques nominated for Mayor’s Youth Award

Lori Jacques

Lori Jacques, 16, from Middleton, has been nominated for the Mayor’s Youth Award for her selfless voluntary efforts, despite living with a rare allergic disorder triggered by her emotions.

Lori was diagnosed with the life-threatening disorder at the age of four. Extreme emotions like upset or distress can cause her to suffer anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction that requires immediate medical treatment. She also suffers from oedema, a build-up of fluid within the body. She takes medication twice a day to keep the reactions under control.

Despite this, Lori, who is studying a level two hairdressing course, spends her spare time volunteering at Langley Theatre with a variety of roles from delivering drama sessions to front of house and helping on day trips.

Lori was nominated for the Award by the Directors of Langley Theatre Workshop, who felt Lori deserved recognition for exceeding her role as a volunteer.

She has also volunteered at Demesne Community Centre Luncheon Club and starred in a Status4all film to raise awareness of mental health problems in young people. She hopes to become more involved with youth services and help young people in the borough have a voice.

Mum Georgina Jacques said: “Lori takes it all in her stride, she always has the biggest smile on her face and she is the happiest person you will ever meet. She takes every day as a gift and always has a kind word for everyone she meets; she stands her ground against any injustice or wrong for anyone.

“It has been hard managing her condition and because it's so rare, it's hard to get people to take it seriously. We are currently waiting on blood results as doctors now think she may have a missing gene. It really shows the advancement of medicine because when she was first diagnosed, it wasn’t known what causes it.

“I'm so very proud of her and she’s thrilled to be nominated for the Mayor’s Youth Award.”

The awards ceremony, presented by Mayor Ray Dutton, will take place on Monday 5 December.