Jerry McEwen and the Asbury United Methodist Church (AUMC) hosted a successful fundraiser for the UAB Interstitial Lung Disease (UAB-ILD) Program on August 6, 2016. This fundraiser, the “Jerry and Friends” concert, was a rousing success. The concert consisted of musical performances by McEwen and AUMC members and drew over 200 attendees. The event raised over $7000 for the UAB-ILD research program in the division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine.

McEwen, a patient of Dr. Victor Thannickal, Division Director, first noticed his symptoms over a year ago. After a persistent, year-long cough, McEwen sought medical assistance at the Kirklin Clinic before his referral to Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine’s UAB-ILD Program. The UAB-ILD Program conducts research into interstitial lung diseases to create novel evaluation and treatment options for ILD patients, educates physicians on the most effective forms of ILD evaluation and treatment, and interacts with the Birmingham-area community to enhance ILD awareness.

After his referral, McEwen was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). IPF is a chronic, progressive lung disease characterized by a disabling shortness of breath, declining exercise capacity, and the formation of lung scar tissue, or fibrosis. The illness has an estimated prevalence of 40 cases per 100,000 people. IPF currently has no known cause and no definitive treatments or cures.

After his diagnosis, McEwen discovered there were several AUMC members with friends and family affected by IPF. Each of these members felt a strong desire to assist those with IPF in any way they could. McEwan and AUMC then organized the “Jerry and Friends” concert to assist the UAB-ILD Program. McEwan was extremely appreciative of the generosity of the attendees and the work done by UAB’s ILD Program.

“Thank you for coming and for giving so generously to this great cause,” McEwen said. “We appreciate the cutting edge work that Dr. Thannickal, Dr. Joao de Andrade, and others at UAB do to help find a cure for this disease.”

“We are deeply grateful for Jerry’s generosity in contributing to this cause,” Dr. Thannickal said. “When confronted with a difficult disease, rather than being depressed or down, he converted a challenge into an opportunity to help others in similar circumstances.”

If you are interested in donating to the UAB-ILD Program or any of the other Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine programs, please visit the UAB Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine Giving Homepage or The Campaign for UAB.