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When Jerry Cahill was eight years old, it was still the 1970s, and his pediatrician at the time was unable to diagnose the cause of Cahill’s wheezing, fatigue, and pains. It was only by chance that a doctor who happened to be passing by the room of Cahill’s appointment at the time was able to get to the root cause.
Cahill had cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that weakens the lungs and digestive system. At the time, very little was known about this condition. The doctors predicted that Cahill would only live to age 16.
Despite the prognosis, Cahill’s father refused to let his son’s disease get the best of him. He encouraged Cahill to play sports with his older, athletic brothers. Cahill did as his father suggested, and after a rocky start, he found a place where he felt he belonged: the pole-vaulting team.
Little did Cahill know that this decision to join the pole-vaulting team would change his life.
Today, after recently turning 60, Cahill is still pole-vaulting. He participates in competitions and trains high school students in the sport despite his cystic fibrosis.
Doctors have now discovered that although the genetic disease has no cure, patients are able to combat the disease by exercising regularly. Individuals suffering from cystic fibrosis are unable to cough properly because of the disease. Mucus builds up in the lungs, making it increasingly difficult to breathe over time.
Exercising, however, helps force cystic fibrosis patients to cough, loosening the mucus in the airways and clearing out the lungs. Cahill exercises daily and explains that those with cystic fibrosis “can’t get caught in a comfort zone, eating whatever and not exercising, because for someone with CF that could be lethal.”
Although Cahill is able to manage his disease quite well, he has and still endures complications of living with cystic fibrosis.
Just four years ago, in 2012, Cahill’s lung function dropped to just under 20% and eventually underwent double lung transplant. He beat the odds of the 50% survival rate, but since then, he has had to learn how to live with his compromised immune system and now suffers from diabetes.
“You change one set of problems for another,” Cahill explains. “I still have the digestive component of CF, and I have developed diabetes. And I face a big problem of being immune suppressed. Me getting a common cold could be lethal. … [Having the disease] is isolating at times but you have a choice.”
Cahill’s incredible story has since been made into a documentary, Up For Air, that the producers, doctors, and Cahill himself hopes will make a difference and inspire “anyone who’s trying to overcome obstacles. Everybody has something in life you’re going through and to dwell on it, well you’ll just get stuck in the mud.”
Watch the documentary trailer below:
