Okay okay. While Taylor Swift is known for bringing celebs together on the stage…
…she isn’t known for any significant medical findings that might advance the field of cystic fbrosis. BUT she does have the reputation for being good to her fans and in this case, her and one Miss Ella Sinclair deserve a round of applause.
According to The Daily Mail Australia, Ella, a 12-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis, has been singing Taylor Swift songs for the past six years to help strengthen her lungs and keep them clear of infections caused by CF.
“Singing Taylor Swift songs every day has helped strengthen my lungs, which has kept me healthy. I love her so much, she’s such an inspiration,” said Ella of Swift. So there was a social media campaign launched, with involvement from CF Queensland to get the pop star to meet one of her biggest fans!
Taylor’s appropriate response was to fly Ella out to meet her before one of her shows, and even get a picture:
Ella is currently undergoing three hours of physiotherapy before and after school, every day, in addition to multiple supplements and pills. She also performs vocal exercises to strengthen her lungs.
What else is Ella doing? You guessed it. Physical exercise.
“Singing combined with physical activity has definitely increased her life expectancy. Some people don’t make it through their teens…Anything where she is exercising her lungs is good because it helps keep the airways clear of the mucus. When the mucus is down there that’s when the bacteria flourish and she can get really sick,” describes Ella’s mother Ms. Dillon-Sinclair to the Daily Mail.
So although Taylor Swift isn’t directly treating cystic fibrosis, this brave little girls’ efforts in exercising her lungs does seem to be helping.
Not to mention, Ella brought cystic fibrosis to the spotlight with her campaign to meet Swift and that deserves some recognition. Keep singing and exercising Ella, we’re rooting for you!
This month, PatientWorthy is teaming up with CysticLife.org to promote their collaboration with the Mayo Clinic for a community-driven research project to investigate the benefits of exercise for CF patients. If you’re interested in contributing to the CysticLife Community Driven Research Fund or want to become a CysticLife member, drop by Unleashus.org or CysticLife.org today!
To donate to CF Queensland, click here. Share this post to spotlight Ella and the posibilities of exercise treatment for cystic fibrosis patients!
