The work we do can be incredibly personal, challenging us in ways we have never experienced before. Our dedication to defeating serious chronic diseases is exemplified by Ronja.

“When my daughter, Elizabeth, was just six days old, we rushed her to the emergency room. She had kicked off her umbilical cord and wouldn't stop bleeding. The doctors ran every test imaginable, but everything came back normal. It was an exhausting and traumatic time. We weren't even allowed to hold her.

After nearly two weeks of continuous blood transfusions, we found out that she had factor XIII deficiency. It's an extremely rare bleeding disorder that. To our knowledge, only one other person in Denmark has it.

Having a child with a chronic disease means constant adjustments. Initially, we were overly cautious, but now, we are very mindful of not wrapping her in bubble wrap.

The journey has really taught us to appreciate the small things in our daily life - and has led me to experience a whole new level of purpose in my work as a medical writer on Mim8, which is a treatment for another type of rare bleeding disorder – haemophilia.

I've also started sharing our story with teams across Novo Nordisk through our 'Essential 1 in action' initiative. It has been therapeutic for me and gives me a strong sense of purpose in creating awareness and helping other caretakers of patients with chronic diseases.

If there wasn’t any treatment for factor XI 11 deficiency, ifs very likely we wouldn’t have a daughter today. That's why it's crucial that companies like Novo Nordisk conduct rare disease research, even though the patient groups might be smaller.

We hope that gene editing might make it possible to cure Elizabeth one day, and until then, that we continue innovating treatment options to make life easier for people with rare diseases.”