Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has something to celebrate these days.

The baseball star’s son, Gehrig Schilling, has overcome the battle of his life — a years-long struggle with anorexia.

Diagnosed with the eating disorder when he was in middle school, the young baseball player has used his experiences and his own love of baseball to beat the debilitating mental illness.

According to Gehrig, his mother, Shonda, first noticed the problem when his eating patterns changed. She took him to a doctor, who eventually diagnosed the disorder.

“I was actually pretty close to being put on a feeding tube for a while,” Gehrig, who weighed only 78 pounds in 8th grade, told the Boston Globe. “I had to ease back in and eat a lot of protein in order to get my weight back up,” he said.

Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) is introduced at Fenway Park on Wednesday during a ceremony honoring the 2004 Red Sox. pic.twitter.com/h1zvSdL4VU

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 29, 2014

Once the diagnosis of anorexia was determined, Gehrig began the healing process by sharing his experiences with others. In the process of becoming a mentor to other young sufferers of eating disorders, he found he was healing both physically and mentally.

“It’s been really neat to see him be honest with people about what had happened, and talk to other people and be able to be a mentor,” said his mother.

Globe West: Curt Schilling’s son Gehrig, family overcome obstacles http://t.co/c21R5GtQRp pic.twitter.com/b7ignLQQrp

— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) July 26, 2014

Another healing outlet for Gehrig is a passion he shares with his father — baseball.

Following a difficult loss in the final game of the season in his hometown league, Gehrig said his father gave him some advice that applies to the sport and life.

“He told me, ‘You don’t always have your best stuff,’” Gehrig said. “He said initially it’s really hard to get back into the game, but you gotta roll with the punches and then deal with what’s going on, what the reality of the game is, and just pick each other up as teammates.”

The family has had much to overcome throughout the years. His younger brother, Grant, has Asperger syndrome, and his sister, Gabby, 17, suffers from hearing loss. Both parents have fought cancer, and the family has had to deal with the collapse of his father’s video game company, 38 Studios.

Image via Wikimedia Commons