How Huntington's Teri Kindelmann balances motherhood and raising awareness for cystic fibrosis

When Teri Kindelmann watches her daughters sprint down a lacrosse field or compete on the basketball court, she doesn’t just see athletes. She sees years of treatments, doctor’s appointments and difficult decisions that made those moments possible.

“At times, it can be very stressful,” Kindelmann said. “But in the end, the reward of seeing them on the basketball court, seeing them out playing lacrosse, seeing them at field hockey, doing what they love to do and seeing them doing amazing at it is just unreal.”

For the 45-year-old Huntington resident, motherhood has always come first. When daughters Matison, now 16, and Charlotte, 13, were both born with cystic fibrosis, Kindelmann made a life-changing decision. She stepped away from her teaching career so she could focus on managing the daily treatments and medical care they needed.

“[Cystic fibrosis] changed motherhood,” she said. “Once they were born, everything we did was to make sure they were healthy.”

Cystic fibrosis, sometimes referred to as CF, is a genetic disorder that leads to persistent lung issues. While there is no cure, evolving treatments can make the condition manageable.

Though she stepped away from teaching, Kindelmann continued to coach because it gave her a practical schedule. She coaches gymnastics at Half Hollow Hills in the fall, gymnastics at Cold Spring Harbor in the winter and girls lacrosse at Half Hollow Hills in the spring.

“A reason I kept coaching is because it’s at night, so my husband would be able to be home with the girls when I went out to coach,” Kindelmann said. “There was always somebody at the house or somebody there with the girls making sure everything was OK and going well.” 

Said Matison, "My mom taught me that love is really about the small stuff. One time, we woke up at 4 a.m. to get a special Dunkin' cup. She gave up her sleep just to see me smile, and that showed me how much she cares about others, even if it's just the small things."

Continuing to coach also gave Kindelmann and her family an unbreakable community.

In 2015, she co-founded "Cartwheel for a Cure," an annual gymnastics meet at Cold Spring Harbor that raises money for cystic fibrosis research and treatment. The event has continued every year since, helping to support families facing many of the same challenges hers has experienced.

The fundraising from the meets helped Matison and Charlotte participate in clinical trials for medications that have transformed treatment for cystic fibrosis.

“They had to go to the doctor at Cohen’s [Children's Medical Center] at least once a month,” Kindelmann said. “We had to do weekly check-ins. We had to get blood work done, have X-rays done a few times a month. It was a lot.”

It’s a high-demand schedule, but the payoff has been more than Kindelmann could have hoped for. Her daughters are healthy enough to compete as three-sport athletes, an experience Kindelmann described as surreal to witness.

For Kindelmann, every practice she coaches and every game she watches carries a deeper meaning. It’s a reminder of all the work she has put in for her daughters, who have refused to let cystic fibrosis define them.

“Seeing them scoring the baskets, scoring the goals, seeing them be able to outrun people even with their condition,” Kindelmann said. “It makes it all worth it. It makes you forget all the hard times.”