Three decades into cystic fibrosis fight, Boomer Esiason and his son Gunnar are winning

In 1993, shortly after being traded to the New York Jets, NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason received a life-changing phone call informing him that his two-year-old son Gunnar had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. This devastating news prompted Esiason to establish the Boomer Esiason Foundation in 1993, which has since grown into a patient advocacy leader for the CF community. Three decades later, at the CNBC Cures Summit in New York City on March 3, 2026, the father-son duo reflected on their journey from despair to hope, highlighting how their public crusade has transformed the landscape of cystic fibrosis treatment and research. The diagnosis came as a shock to the Esiason family, as cystic fibrosis was widely viewed at the time as a fatal pediatric disease. Following the diagnosis, Esiason reached out to sportswriter Frank Deford, who had become a staunch advocate against CF after the death of his own daughter to the disease. Deford encouraged Esiason to 'use all of your powers to leverage every single media outlet you possibly can to put a name and a face on this disease.' This advice launched Esiason into a lifelong mission of advocacy, leading to the creation of the foundation that has raised nearly $200 million in the fight against CF. The foundation has provided funding for research grants, hardship assistance to affected families, and scholarships for students in the CF community pursuing higher education. Gunnar's own battle with cystic fibrosis was arduous, involving daily treatments with nebulizer machines, mechanical vests to dislodge mucus from his lungs, and feeding tubes. By his early twenties, he had experienced numerous health crises and was running out of treatment options. In 2018, he participated in a clinical trial for a drug called Trikafta, which had received funding from his father's foundation. The drug, manufactured by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, was approved by the FDA in 2019. Miraculously, Gunnar experienced immediate and dramatic improvement after taking the drug, describing it as 'pure freedom' after years of health complications. Today, at 34 years old, Gunnar has earned his MBA, started a career in healthcare technologies, married, and had two children through IVF.