Andy Lipman has cystic fibrosis, but cystic fibrosis will never have him.

On his 38th birthday, Andy passed the current median life expectancy for people with cystic fibrosis (CF). At 49, his life expectancy now exceeds the expected. Andy is a positive role model, who defied all odds to become a college graduate, Olympic-torch bearer, runner, advocate, author, husband, and father. He is dedicated to finding a cure for this genetic disease.

Andy’s fourth book, The CF Warrior Project: 65 Stories of Triumph Against Cystic Fibrosis, celebrates the people from around the globe who, like him, persevere and live life the fullest every day even though they have a terminal, invisible disease. The book is available on Amazon and other booksellers. The second installment of the series,  The CF Warrior Project Volume 2: Celebrating Our CF Community,  arrives February 2023.

The CF Warrior Project is more than a book, it is a movement. Andy, in fact, appeared on The Today Show on October 21, 2019 to discuss his story along with the movement. Andy’s Today Show appearance

Andy has two written memoirs telling his story battling the long odds of a CF diagnosis: Alive at 25: How I’m Beating Cystic Fibrosis and The Drive at 35: The Long Road to Beating Cystic Fibrosis. In addition, he wrote A Superhero Needs No Cape about a young person who grows up wanting to play Major League Baseball, but he must do so while fighting cystic fibrosis.

Not just relating stories of survivors, Andy is also dedicated to finding a cure for this invisible, terminal disease. He and his family founded the Wish for Wendy Foundation in memory of his older sister, who died from CF after only 16 days of life. In 2017, Andy was the recipient of the Alex Award presented by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. As of 2021, the foundation has contributed more than $4.5 million to help raise awareness for cystic fibrosis and fund research for a cure.

Andy was chosen as the finale conference speaker of the Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Center at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shortly after being certified as a Toastmaster speaker. Andy has spoken at CF organizations from California all the way to Ireland in addition to sharing his story with local business, schools, and civic organizations.

Andy has run the 10-kilometer Peachtree Road Race every year since 1997. He also runs and adheres to a rigorous daily workout routine. He has also finished a triathlon and completed the difficult ninety-day workout program P90X. An even greater achievement occurred in 2006 when Lipman became a father, a miracle for any male with cystic fibrosis because they are nearly all infertile. The Lipman’s second child, also conceived with the help of IVF, was born in 2008.

Andy holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia and serves on the University of Georgia’s Terry College Business emeritus board of directors and has served on the board in some facet since 2012. He also serves on the Georgia Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation board and was the corporate sponsorship chair for three years at the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and still serves on the committee.

Andy currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife Andrea and their 16-year-old daughter Avery and 14-year-old son Ethan. He began a breakthrough cystic fibrosis drug called Trikafta in November of 2019 and has since seen his lung function skyrocket to levels he has not seen in more than a quarter of a century.

Follow Andy and The CF Warrior Project on Twitter: @CFWarriorProj; Instagram: @CFWarriorProject; YouTube: CF Warrior Project; TikTok: @cf_warrior_project ; and Facebook: Andy-Lipman.