Cleveland Indians Manager Eric Wedge Urges Fans To Fight Cystic Fibrosis

Main Category: Cystic Fibrosis
Article Date: 28 Sep 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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Eric Wedge, manager of the Cleveland Indians, is joining the fight against cystic fibrosis (CF), a fatal genetic disease. Wedge and 17-year old Michaela Mullet will star in a public service announcement (PSA) to be aired during a Cleveland Indians game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday evening, September 28.

Cystic fibrosis clogs the lungs with thick mucus, causing life-threatening infections and premature death. Ten million people in the United States are unknowing carriers of the defective CF gene.

Mullet is a junior at Central Christian School in Kidron, Ohio, and was diagnosed when she was four days old. To stave off illness, Mullet takes 21 pills a day (7,665 a year) and undergoes hours of breathing treatments daily to clear the mucus from her lungs.

"Having cystic fibrosis is like trying to breath through a cocktail straw all the time and not be able to catch a full breath of air," says Mullet. "I want everyone with CF to have as normal a life as possible. That's why we are asking all the great Tribe fans to donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, our greatest hope for finding a cure."

During the PSA, Wedge and Mullet will ask fans to use their cell phones to make a $5 contribution by texting "CURECF" to 90999. Donations will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for scientific research to find therapies and a cure.

Source
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation