The tenacity that he displayed on the field and in dealing with his condition paid off, and in 2005 - his final season in the NFL - he helped lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a Super Bowl victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Now, he works hard as a patient advocate, helping to assure children with asthma that they, too, can pursue their dreams. "I tell kids with asthma to not let their situation become a liability. Understand what you have. Learn how to manage it and learn how to deal with it on a daily basis and you can be successful. If I was able to overcome this, then you can overcome it."

Also helping asthma patients overcome their illness are scientists at America's pharmaceutical research companies. According to a recent survey, 77 potential new medicines are in development for lung and respiratory disorders, including asthma.

Also featured on the episode is GlaxoSmithKline scientist and asthma expert Dr. Courtney Crim who says, "Although a cure for asthma may not be immediately around the corner, we hope that current and future research may give us more insight into the disease and more insight how to better treat it."

He adds: "Even though we may or may not be able to cure it in the near or relatively near future, it hopefully will allow us to better manage the disease so that patients can live a more fulfilling life in terms of their overall health status and sense of well-being."

Previous episodes of Sharing Miracles have featured Academy Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden, a breast cancer advocate; Emmy Award-winning actor Joey Pantoliano, who suffers from clinical depression; Olympic gold medal winners Mark Spitz (high cholesterol), Bruce Jenner (attention deficit disorder), and Greg Louganis (HIV); syndicated television talk show host Montel Williams, who suffers from multiple sclerosis; actor and Leave It To
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