In this podcast we meet Will Schlucter, a 26 year-old CF patient who owns his own gym, Will Power Strength and Conditioning. After years during his youth of taking breaks during athletics, Will decided, as an adult, to push through his coughing, expand his limits, and leave his comfort zone while working out - which led to a love of training himself and other people.

This video podcast/vodcast was made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Novartis to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

Today, you will meet Brayden Merrill, a 14-year-old with cystic fibrosis who stays healthy by playing soccer, track, and cross country. For someone so young, he is very open about his disease and uses it as a reason to train harder – uses it to his advantage as a motivation. His younger brother Noah (8) also has CF, and Brayden does everything he can to be a good role model and to teach him how to stay healthy.

This video podcast/vodcast was made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Genentech to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

Today, we meet Sabrina Walker who is 30 years old living, breathing, and succeeding with cystic fibrosis in Anchorage, Alaska. Growing up, her parents encouraged her to stay active and play sports – not allowing her to make excuses about why CF would stop her. Sabrina’s mom is the person who sparked her love of running in order to keep her lungs clear. Not only does Sabrina battle CF on a day-to-day basis, she is also a cancer survivor, wife, and mother who keeps a positive attitude through it all.

This video podcast/vodcast was made possible through an educational grant from Gilead to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

CF Podcast: Callie Deanda

Name: “Jumping the Fear with CF

Sponsor: Genentech

Callie Deanda,: 

• 20 years old with CF, athletic, attending college, and from Tennesse
• Hobbies include soccer (plays on varsity team), hiking, cross-stitching
• Watching Buffy & Vampire Slayer with friends and Callie is a huge Sporting Clays fan
• Callie believes that we all need to “jump the fear” with CF.you never know what’s going to happen in life… big fear of the unknown things just happen so ENJOY!
• Family “24 hour rule” get over things in life and move forward…
• Callie and her family believe you should not get stuck in CF.
• CF opens doors!
• Callie loves life and always finds joy in life
• Callie’s advice… “We all need people in life, we cannot do on our own

This podcast was made possible from an unrestricted educational grant from Genentech to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

In this podcast, we hear from Jerry’s CF medical team about his journey with CF and life post-transplant. They share how they work as a team to make patients with CF feel cared for and supported. For Jerry, because of the extensive amount of time he spends with them, his doctors and nurses at Columbia University Medical Center have become like extended family – a group of caring individuals who tirelessly work to make sure he has a long, successful life.

This video podcast/vodcast was made possible through an unrestricted educational grant made from Gilead to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

In this podcast, we meet some of “Jerry’s kids” – the young athletes he dedicates a great deal of his time to coaching in the sport of pole vault. Just as in his professional life, Jerry runs a tight ship… something his kids would heartily confirm. And it is that passion and dedication that inspires these athletes to work harder and longer than anyone else on the track. In turn, that hard work continues to inspire Jerry in his own life living with cystic fibrosis.

This video podcast/vodcast was made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Allergan to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

In this podcast, Mary Cahill – mother to Jerry Cahill – sits down to discuss what it was like raising a CF child among her other “normal” children. She shares the story of his diagnosis and the subsequent decision that she and her husband made to treat Jerry the exact same as his siblings – encouraging him to play sports and get out and be as active as possible. This decision led Jerry to live an active, healthy, and successful life, enabling him to get to where he is today.

This educational video podcast was made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Genentech to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

Gunnar Esiason sat down with BEF CF Ambassador Jerry Cahill recently to find out more about his double lung transplant and the way his life has changed since he had the procedure 4 years ago. Jerry shares the many ways in which he has traded certain CF issues for complications that come along with any transplanted organs – and also reminds us that a transplant is not a cure; that he still has cystic fibrosis.

This video podcast was made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Gilead to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

In this podcast, we hear from 24-year-old, Gunnar Esiason. He discusses how important it is for people with cystic fibrosis to remain compliant – with their medications, treatments, nutrition, and exercise. Gunnar also points out that airway clearance is one of the most important things he does to stay healthy and – outside of using a vest, percussor, and exercising – that he uses a machine called a frequencer. Check out the video to learn more!

This video podcast/vodcast was made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Genentech to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

“I felt guilty I didn’t have the disease.”

To Sydney Esiason, there is no bigger duty of a sibling than to be the other’s biggest fan and supporter. While Gunnar has been in the spotlight for the majority of his life because of cystic fibrosis, Sydney has been there right beside him, cheering him on – quite literally. The duo attended the same schools all the way through Boston College. Tune in to hear Sydney tell her story of growing up as a sister to someone with cystic fibrosis.

This podcast was made possible through an unrestricted educational grant from Novartis to the Boomer Esiason Foundation.