Cleveland Indians Manager Eric Wedge Urges Fans to Fight Cystic Fibrosis

Wedge Teams Up with 17-Year-Old Patient to "Pitch" Donations at Sept. 28 Game

September 25, 2009

(Bethesda, Md.) —- Eric Wedge, manager of the Cleveland Indians, is joining the fight against cystic fibrosis (CF), a fatal genetic disease. Wedge and 17-year old Michaela Mullet will star in a public service announcement (PSA) to be aired during a Cleveland Indians game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday evening, September 28.

Cystic fibrosis clogs the lungs with thick mucus, causing life-threatening infections and premature death. Ten million people in the United States are unknowing carriers of the defective CF gene.

Mullet is a junior at Central Christian School in Kidron, Ohio, and was diagnosed when she was four days old. To stave off illness, Mullet takes 21 pills a day (7,665 a year) and undergoes hours of breathing treatments daily to clear the mucus from her lungs.

"Having cystic fibrosis is like trying to breath through a cocktail straw all the time and not be able to catch a full breath of air," says Mullet. "I want everyone with CF to have as normal a life as possible. That's why we are asking all the great Tribe fans to donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, our greatest hope for finding a cure."

During the PSA, Wedge and Mullet will ask fans to use their cell phones to make a $5 contribution by texting "CURECF" to 90999. Donations will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for scientific research to find therapies and a cure.

About the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is the world leader in the fight against cystic fibrosis. It has invested over $320 million in drug research with biotech companies since 1998 to develop therapies to fight CF. As a result, the Foundation has more than 30 therapies in its drug development pipeline. Virtually all of the approved CF therapies available today were made possible because of the support of the Foundation. Based in Bethesda, Md., the Foundation is supported solely by donations from individuals and companies, and it operates an award-winning care center network for patients and families.

Media Contact

• Laurie Fink, Director of Media Relations, (301) 841-2602, lfink@cff.org