On August 22nd, over 100 student-athletes, coaches and others from the FSU community came out to the Kidz1stFund event of Florida State head football coach Jimbo Fisher to support the family at the Indoor Practice Facility. For the past three years, the Kidz1stFund has sponsored a donor registration event for the FSU community to educate everyone about the organization’s fight against Fanconi anemia.
Fanconi anemia is a rare blood disorder that can lead to bone marrow failure. Ethan Fisher, the youngest son of FSU coach Jimbo Fisher and his wife Candi, was diagnosed with the rare disease three years ago.
“We’ve done this for a few years now and we always invite the student-athletes to come out and I think more than anything, it is educating them on the importance of something like this,” said Candi Fisher. “Most of them have never heard of this or they don’t understand what exactly they’re being asked to do. This is a lifelong gift, you’re in the national bone marrow registry; there are 71 diseases that require bone marrow transplant for adults and children and you never know when one of them can be the perfect match and the only match that someone can find and save someone’s life.”
This inherited disorder affects about 1 in 131,000 people, and occurs equally in males, females and all ethnic groups. People with FA can have a variety of health issues including kidney problems, heart defects and hearing problems, along with other medical issues. Even though those affected by this disease have no physical symptoms, the majority of all people will have a decline in their blood counts over time, eventually leading to bone marrow failure. The average life expectancy for a patient with FA is 29 years.
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