The cheers echoing from the Martin Aquatics Center Saturday morning were not just in spirit of Auburn's NCAA swim team.
Instead, the encouraging sounds were for 7-year-old Cystic Fibrosis patient Sullivan Britnell as he swam a 50-meter lap, finishing up the Laps for CF event.
Saturday marked Auburn University's fifth year participating in Laps for CF, an organization and event founded because of one patient's efforts to help raise money for research, as well as a financial support for families who struggle with CF.
Emily Schreiber, 16, from Birmingham, was diagnosed with CF when she was 9 years old, and, at this age, she started the foundation Laps for CF.
What began as her pledge to swim laps for each individual and business's donation to the cause has now turned into an event involving the community and swim and dive team, like Saturday's event held at Auburn.
"The swim team, they are all such great athletes," Schreiber said. "We really just wanted to have an exhibition to honor them. They also help us with the event and are so supportive. It really is just as much about them as it is about CF."
This year's Laps for CF featured a different swimmer than the previous four years.
An Auburn resident and son of Auburn professor Rich Britnell, Sullivan has been preparing to swim for weeks, an activity that tends to be more challenging for CF patients.
"When he first started he couldn't swim very far without getting really tired and exhausted," said Helen Britnell, Sullivan's mom. "Thursday night he swam a full 50 meters without grabbing onto the side, but he did it, and (before) he would have been too tired. His endurance has increased."
CF is an inherited genetic disorder that Britnell said both parents must have in order for it to affect the child.
One in every 25 to 30 Americans is a carrier of CF. If both parents are carriers, Britnell said there is a 25 percent chance their child will have CF.
With CF patients, mucus in the body is thicker in areas where, in a person without CF's body, it would be thin.
Britnell said this can cause the lungs and pancreas to become clogged with mucus, causing lung infections and progressively causing permanent damage.
Yet, swimming is one activity that helps.
"It's very good for their lungs," Britnell said. "It keeps their lungs healthy and strong to help keep them well."
Since its start in 2003, the organization has raised more than $1.2 million.
"We take all of that money and distribute it to families who need it, local care clinics and also in finding a cure," Schreiber said.
Stephanie Kite, director of Laps for CF, said the foundation's events continue to grow and expand each year, involving several different communities.
The University of Alabama hosts a similar event to Auburn's Laps for CF.
Kite also said the foundation holds a concert, golf tournament and other similar activities to help fund and support the now non-profit organization.
Schreiber said depending on the year, the swimming events and her letter campaigns could raise $100,000 to $120,000.
"About 300 people have CF in Alabama and 30,000 (people) nationwide," Schreiber said. "We're getting really close to finding a cure; the CF foundation has done a great job."
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