Famous People with Cystic Fibrosis

Some famous people with Cystic Fibrosis accomplished great things, despite the challenges of managing this disease.

Some famous people with Cystic Fibrosis may be very well known to you, even if you didn’t know they had Cystic Fibrosis. This inherited illness has a range of severity, but with proper Cystic Fibrosis management, many people who have the condition go on to lead very successful lives.

Understanding Cystic Fibrosis.
Cystic Fibrosis is a disease that affects the secretory glands, including mucus glands and sweat glands. People with this condition cannot regulate the flow of water and salt through the cells of their bodies. This can lead to a variety of problems, ranging from digestive difficulties to respiratory problems to a tendency to dehydrate easily.

The disease is caused by a faulty gene passed on from parents. Both parents must have the defective gene for a child to develop the condition, and even then there is only a 25% chance that the child will be born with the condition. The severity of the damage to the gene determines the severity of Cystic Fibrosis.
Some famous people who have been impacted by Cystic Fibrosis include the following:
Andrew Simmons, a professional wrestler who was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis.
Football great Boomer Esiason’s son
Sports writer Frank Deford’s daughter
Bill Williams, a former professional soccer player. He played for Gillingham, Mansfield Town, Portsmouth, Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion. He also designed and developed some well-known Atari games (Alley Cat). He died in 1998 from the disease.
Lisa Bentley, a Canadian athlete that participates in triathlon races, was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis in 1988. She has been participating in triathlons since the 1990s.
English pop singer and songwriter Alice Martineau. She was born on June 8, 1972. She pursued a career in music and played live gigs until 2001. The disease claimed her life on March 6, 2003.
French singer Gregory Jean-Paul Lemarchal was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when he was 20 months old. He was the winner of the Star Academy TV show. He died of complications from Cystic Fibrosis on April 30, 2007.
Gordon Brown, England’s Prime Minister, has a son who has been diagnosed with the disease.
There are also rumors that some well-known historical figures, including physicist Albert Einstein and classical composer Frederic Chopin, suffered from Cystic Fibrosis. Because the disease was not as well understood in the past, it is not known whether these rumors are true, but there are no doubt some great figures who battled the condition.