Franklin football team aims to raise $5,000 for cystic fibrosis

FRANKLIN — Franklin Middle School will face off against Winnisquam Middle School in a football game at Franklin High, a fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9.

Franklin Middle Assistant Coach Adam Heath is the primary organizer for the event. At the beginning of the school year, he found out one of his players, 11-year-old Dylan Shortt, has cystic fibrosis, which prompted him to research the disease and create the fundraiser.

“When it's one of your players, it hits harder,” Heath said.

Heath didn’t know much about the disease, and realized how little awareness there is about it. When he asked Winnisquam Middle Assistant Coach Elizabeth Sheehan if the school would participate, she was immediately on board. She expressed similar sentiments about her knowledge on cystic fibrosis.

“There's just not enough awareness out there, there's not enough fundraising, there's not enough information or knowledge,” Sheehan said. “They have a whole month for breast cancer awareness, which is fantastic, and we also support that, but you don't ever hear or see anything for cystic fibrosis. So, when we were given this opportunity, we absolutely were on board to support it.”

Heath is aiming to raise $5,000. Donations will be collected primarily online through events.cff.org/roseup/Member/MyPage/7395601/Franklin-Middle-School. There will also be a raffle for a kayak at the game.

Winnisquam raised $300 at a recent home game from their own raffle as well as proceeds from concessions.

Education, awareness about cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is a progressive disease affecting the lungs, pancreas and other organs, which currently has no cure. People with CF develop mucus in their organs that can clog the airways and trap germs, like bacteria, leading to infections, inflammation, respiratory failure and other complications, according to the CF Foundation. This is due to a genetic mutation. Roughly 40,000 children live with the disease in the United States.

Despite his illness, Heath said Dylan is a good quarterback.

“He's got a lot of speed. He has a lot of aptitude for the game of football,” he said. “He loves the game.”

Dylan’s mother, Ashley Shortt, said while people with CF can’t do some things, like scuba diving, football and other high cardio sports are encouraged by physicians.

“When you're playing sports and you're being athletic, you're using your lungs. And the more you use your lungs, the more that the lungs get stronger, and they're able to push out all that 'yuck' CFers can develop in their lungs,” she said. “Any sort of cardiovascular sport, running, you know, anything that gets you out there, get you moving, is great for you.”

Heath said Dylan is not treated any differently than other team members at practice. The only deviation is instead of a water break every 15-20 minutes, Dylan takes a sip every 10 minutes. Staying hydrated helps to keep mucus thinner and can clear the airway.

Dylan is not currently in the starting lineup, but that is not due to his ability, or complications with CF. Heath said he’s just too small. But it’s only a matter of time.

“We would have him starting if he was bigger,” he said. “Any of the eighth graders who are bigger, we're not going to put him in facing kids like that.”

Ashley and her husband both have a rare recessive gene which, if passed down from both parents, results in a 25% chance of a child having CF. Ashley didn’t know she and her husband had the gene until it was found in a blood test while she was pregnant with her now 15-year-old daughter Danielle, who also has CF.

Babies are required by state law to be tested for CF after they are born. Due to the blood test results, both of Ashley’s children were tested prenatally. Ashley said some people assume the outcome if a problem is found during testing. She said she used the testing as a way to inform herself.

“The genetic testing allowed me to make a lot of really good, informed decisions,” she said. “I wasn't interested in terminating, just wanted to to know. I wanted to be prepared if there was anything going on. And I'm really glad I did it.”

Because of her connection to the disease, Ashley has already raised thousands of dollars through other fundraising efforts. She put on a CF walk-a-thon before the COVID pandemic, but didn’t feel comfortable asking people to donate when they were struggling financially during the pandemic. Ashley is involved in the fundraiser, but said the community has taken on most of the responsibility.

Heath shared why community participation is important.

“I'm not looking for glory. We're not looking for any of that,” he said. “Our slogan right now is not Franklin vs. Winnisquam. It's two teams with a single mission, and that's to help research and find a cure.”