This Christmas has been a very special one for 400 Kiwis, many of whom did not think they would still be alive now.
They're the cystic fibrosis sufferers who became eligible for a life-saving drug.
Trikafta was made available free for over six year olds from April this year.
Tom Stevenson wasn't supposed to live long enough to join his family at this Christmas celebration or make it to his 26th birthday last week.
Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a baby, Tom was a ticking time bomb - a common cold could put him in hospital.
"You wrestle with your mortality quite early and then you sort of get over it and sort of put it to the back of my mind while your lung function starts to drop and your weight drops and all that stuff," he said.
But since the Government's drug-buying agency Pharmac's decision to fully fund the treatment in April, cystic fibrosis sufferers like Tom have had remarkable results.
"Before I was coughing like quite a few times, every minute, every hour," he said.
"They talk about how you breathe through a straw with cystic fibrosis, now it just feels like I'm breathing through many straws."
Trikafta would normally cost more than $300,000 per person, per year.
For Tom's mother Ros Stevenson, it's something she's only dreamt about after closely following medical advancements throughout her son's life.
"I was a part of CF Association at the time. We did loads of fundraising... and all this time we just knew it was in the background potentially happening," she said.
And it's so simple - two tablets once a day is all that's required.
"He's a lot more outgoing now. He's looking ahead to the future which he's never really done before. He's making plans, a lot more sociable. The sky's the limit, he's a whole new guy," Ros said.
"Being on this drug there's nothing looming over my head, I can just live my life, it's incredible. Now I can worry about other stuff like parking tickets or something," Tom said.
A life-changing gift neither Tom nor his family would ever swap.
