DISABILITIES

By Daniel J. Vance

Boomer and Gunnar could be football's greatest father-son quarterback combination.

“Boomer” is Boomer Esiason, age 44, the former Cincinnati Bengal and New York Jet quarterback and arguably the greatest left-handed thrower in National Football League history. His 14-year-old son Gunnar currently plays quarterback for his high school team.

And Gunnar has cystic fibrosis.

The Boomer Esiason Foundation Web site defines cystic fibrosis (CF) as a “fatal genetic disorder” affecting about 30,000 Americans. People with CF have an average lifespan of about 30 years. Symptoms include clogged airways, digestive and reproductive problems, and chronic infections.

“I first learned about [Gunnar's CF] in 1993 when stepping onto the practice field at a Jets mini-camp,” said Esiason in a telephone interview from his New York office. “I was told I had to get home immediately because Gunnar was in the hospital with breathing problems. I never took a snap. I took off my gear and went home to Cincinnati.”

Gunnar was only age 2.

Said Esiason, “We were demoralized.”

Esiason was no stranger to CF. Coincidentally, beginning in 1986, he had become

actively involved in raising funds to fight it. Into 1991, just prior to Gunnar's birth, he was regularly visiting and often bringing other players to the cystic fibrosis wing of Cincinnati Children's Hospital. So he fully understood this disease and what it could do.

“I had seen the worst cases,” he said of visiting CF children, “and felt so helpless that all I could do was raise money.” And then came that day on the Jets practice field when he learned about his own son's CF. Suddenly, the fleet-footed quarterback with the golden arm had to emotionally face the blitz of a very tough opponent.

It has been about 12 years since that day. And yet Boomer today is extremely upbeat about his son's future. “We have come a long way in [treating CF],” he said of medical science. “A kid with cystic fibrosis is on the University of Virginia national championship lacrosse team and another on the University of Denver national championship hockey team. And those are just two. There are so many other examples of people overcoming and dealing with CF and living a fulfilled life.”

Esiason said his goal is for Gunnar to outlive him. “And I fully expect that to be the case,” he said.

For more, see www.danieljvance.com or www.esiason.org