British fitness instructor, 35, in desperate need of a lung transplant is trapped in Middle East waiting for urgent medical evacuation to UK
A British fitness instructor is fighting for her life in a Saudi intensive care unit as bombs rain down on Riyadh. Laura Storr, 35, from Shenfield, Essex, moved to the desert kingdom in 2020 to help open a boutique gym - only to be struck down two years years later by a rare and incurable lung disease. The condition, pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD), is rare, rapidly progressive and has no cure - leaving a lung transplant as her only option. It's just really, really hard, awful.' A protein injection for the condition is also being trialled on a patient in the UK, where Laura could access it privately.
Source: Daily Mail March 23, 2026 10:18 UTC
