For storied NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason and Friends Academy alumni parent, another story began again when his son Gunnar ‘09 was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis in 1993. The genetic disorder affects nearly 40,000 people in the U.S. and 100,000 people worldwide.
Just two years old, Gunnar, with his parents, Boomer and Cheryl, started a journey that medical science guaranteed would not last very long. The odds were whole-heartedly against them. “In that moment,” said Friends Academy Head of School Paul Stellato, “Boomer and Cheryl wrestled with finding out as much as they could and established the Boomer Esiason Foundation.” Founded at the time of Gunnar’s diagnosis, the foundation supports medical advancements and provides financial assistance to families affected by CF. With the help of fundraising events, grants, and partnerships, the non-profit has been working toward finding a cure.
Despite that, Gunnar, who graduated from Friends Academy in 2009 after playing for the Varsity Football and Varsity Ice Hockey teams, continued to defy medical expectations, while at the same time knowing that his time was undoubtedly running out – in 1993 when Gunnar was diagnosed, he was not expected to live past his college years.
The disease is characterized by the presence of thick mucus in the lungs, as well as associative digestive problems. CF patients are usually underweight and daily treatments range from injections to nebulizers, and daily, relentless pounding on the back to dislodge the mucus. It was a terminal disease. “I realized that the treatment was a grind for him, morning, noon, and night,” said Gunnar’s sister, Sydney ’10, told ESPN.
On February 11, Gunnar and Boomer returned to FA and invited Upper School students and faculty to the first public screening of the ESPN-produced documentary, Second Wind: The Boomer and Gunnar Esiason Story. The film, which debuted Dec. 24, 2024 on ESPN, chronicles the devastating impact of CF on Gunnar and his parents, and how they channeled their hopes into the creation of the Boomer Esiason Foundation (BEF) in 1993, which $175 million dollars and 30 years later has led to one of the most transformative stories in modern medicine.
“Money buys science… science buys life,” Boomer reasoned in Second Wind. “We put a lot of money from BEF into biotech and research.”
In his senior year at Friends Academy, Gunnar made the Varsity football team as their back-up quarterback. “CF got in my way and I collapsed and started coughing up blood,” recalled Gunnar. “But, I had 1 goal – I was 17 and I wanted to be like my dad.”
After graduating from Friends, Gunnar matriculated to Boston College, where he barely finished his first year. “My weight dropped below 130 lbs. I was 6'2. I ended up needing a feeding tube inserted,” remembered Gunnar. He barely finished his first year at BC and ended up graduating in absentia. At 22, he’d had a feeding tube inserted. “My doctor told me I was running out of options.”
The only hope was that all the money being raised by foundations, like the one the Esiasons had established, would come to fruition. “It confronted me that I was genuinely dying – I couldn’t get out of bed to brush my teeth,” said Gunnar during filming.
As Friends Academy students and faculty continued to watch, the film took a leap upward, when in 2018 when Gunnar was 26, a new drug, Trikafta, which was supported by funding from BEF, entered clinical trials. A combination of three drugs, Gunnar was a candidate for a late-stage trial. “I remember coughing all this mucus out of my stems and then suddenly I stopped coughing and felt rested for the first time,” he recalled. Taking his first full deep breath for the first time? “It was like nothing I will surely ever experience again.”
In 2019, the FDA approved the Trikafta therapy for CF patients, 12 years and older.
Today, Gunnar is 33, married to his wife Darcy, and together they have two children – a miracle in itself as men diagnosed with CF experienced infertility of up to 100%.
Following the film’s FA screening, a special talkback session with Gunnar, his dad Boomer, the film’s director Max Brodsky, and ESPN journalist Jeremy Schapp, who had not seen the film yet with the Esiasons examined the impact of this incredible story.
“This was really special to watch the film with the subjects,” began Mr. Schaap, as he turned toward Boomer and Gunnar. “What is it like to change the world?” An emotional Boomer responded. “I’m not so sure I did that. I was just doing what I could to save his life. Quite frankly, his mother saved his life… she really did save his life.”
Just after the screening, a special reception was held for the Esiason family with BEF leadership and staff, and some moving reunions with Friends Academy faculty. "It was an honor to share one of the most transformative stories in medicine with such an engaged and thoughtful group of students—and to highlight BEF’s important role in making that story a reality,” said BEF President Bob Planske. “Beyond honoring Gunnar’s journey, we hope this story inspires students as they consider their own paths, whether in medicine, advocacy, research, or any field where they can make a meaningful impact on the lives of others," he added.
No stranger to challenge, Boomer shared how his professional history helped to prepare him for the unfathomable challenges of CF. “I played for the Bermuda Triangle of the NFL,” he chuckled. “You do learn how to deal with adversity. But when you’re touched by something like this and knowing that other families are dealing with this… I did have the platform, but it didn’t come together until Frank Deford took it up.” Losing his daughter to CF at age 8, sportswriter Frank Deford helped the Esiasons elevate and escalate BEF’s work to a national level.
Reflecting on how many people have struggled and lost their battle with CF, Gunnar spoke to the privilege he felt in being able to tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. “Oftentimes, when celebrities and famous people are confronted with these things… often the story doesn’t end,” said Gunnar. “Here we did endure the struggle and also saw the end as well. You guys at ESPN showed how much the struggle was – especially for the everyday people who don’t get to feel the miraculous advances of science like we did.”
Photography by Alvin Caal/Friends Academy