Bill Damron Fund
Donation protected
Bill Damron is an incredibly talented and dedicated musician, whom I have known since high school when we played in bands and orchestras together. He could really use our help at this time...
Bill had to leave his position of Principal Trombone with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra at the end of October 2016 due to his inability to play the trombone. At this time, the symphony granted him an extended UNPAID medical leave from the orchestra as well. In January 2017, Bill sought the guidance of Jan Kagarice, a noted clinician in the treatment of a multitude of brass playing issues. Ms. Kagarice has retrained nearly 500 clients to play again. During Bill’s initial consultation with Ms. Kagarice, he was diagnosed with Embouchure Task-Specific Focal Dystonia (eTSFD) in early February 2017.
Task-specific focal dystonia is a movement disorder that interferes with the performance of particular tasks, such as writing, playing a musical instrument, or participating in a sport. Dystonias are a group of movement problems characterized by involuntary, sustained muscle contractions, tremors, and other uncontrolled movements. The term "focal" refers to a type of dystonia that affects a single part of the body, such as the hand or jaw. In Bill’s case, eTSFD involved the lips, jaw, tongue, glottis, throat, diaphragm, and abdominal muscles. He has not been able to play the trombone since developing eTSFD.
The initial prognosis was that it would take between six months to one year for Bill to fully recover from eTSFD. But, several months into the retraining process, it became evident to Ms. Kagarice that Bill’s dystonias were much more extensive than initially diagnosed. He is now in his fifteenth month of retraining and is making good progress. While the dystonias are nearly gone, Bill must undergo further retraining to play the trombone again.
The retraining process involves weekly lessons, via Skype, and the fee is $120 per lesson. During each lesson, Ms. Kagarice assesses Bill’s condition and progress and, then, assigns a variety of exercises that are organized into a set called a prescription. The prescription of exercises is repeated anywhere from three to six times per day and can take between 4 – 6 hours, including breaks between each run of the prescription, depending upon the length and difficulty of the prescription. These exercises are a combination of physical and occupational therapy.
The Tulsa Symphony graciously agreed to underwrite 50% of Bill’s expenses for retraining up to a $5,000 limit. That limit was reached in early April 2018. This has helped immensely to offset Bill’s expenses, and he is very grateful for the Tulsa Symphony’s contribution. But, due to the amount of time involved in the retraining process, Bill has been unemployed during his medical leave. He has had to sell his collection of gemstones in order to pay bills, etc.
Bill has about 4 months more retraining to undergo before he can play the trombone again at a professional level. This would amount to about 16 additional lessons at $120/lesson, totaling $1,920. With the symphony no longer able to partially underwrite the lessons, he can no longer afford them.
Bill’s monthly living expenses amount to about $500, totaling $2000 for the four months.
Bill had to leave his position of Principal Trombone with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra at the end of October 2016 due to his inability to play the trombone. At this time, the symphony granted him an extended UNPAID medical leave from the orchestra as well. In January 2017, Bill sought the guidance of Jan Kagarice, a noted clinician in the treatment of a multitude of brass playing issues. Ms. Kagarice has retrained nearly 500 clients to play again. During Bill’s initial consultation with Ms. Kagarice, he was diagnosed with Embouchure Task-Specific Focal Dystonia (eTSFD) in early February 2017.
Task-specific focal dystonia is a movement disorder that interferes with the performance of particular tasks, such as writing, playing a musical instrument, or participating in a sport. Dystonias are a group of movement problems characterized by involuntary, sustained muscle contractions, tremors, and other uncontrolled movements. The term "focal" refers to a type of dystonia that affects a single part of the body, such as the hand or jaw. In Bill’s case, eTSFD involved the lips, jaw, tongue, glottis, throat, diaphragm, and abdominal muscles. He has not been able to play the trombone since developing eTSFD.
The initial prognosis was that it would take between six months to one year for Bill to fully recover from eTSFD. But, several months into the retraining process, it became evident to Ms. Kagarice that Bill’s dystonias were much more extensive than initially diagnosed. He is now in his fifteenth month of retraining and is making good progress. While the dystonias are nearly gone, Bill must undergo further retraining to play the trombone again.
The retraining process involves weekly lessons, via Skype, and the fee is $120 per lesson. During each lesson, Ms. Kagarice assesses Bill’s condition and progress and, then, assigns a variety of exercises that are organized into a set called a prescription. The prescription of exercises is repeated anywhere from three to six times per day and can take between 4 – 6 hours, including breaks between each run of the prescription, depending upon the length and difficulty of the prescription. These exercises are a combination of physical and occupational therapy.
The Tulsa Symphony graciously agreed to underwrite 50% of Bill’s expenses for retraining up to a $5,000 limit. That limit was reached in early April 2018. This has helped immensely to offset Bill’s expenses, and he is very grateful for the Tulsa Symphony’s contribution. But, due to the amount of time involved in the retraining process, Bill has been unemployed during his medical leave. He has had to sell his collection of gemstones in order to pay bills, etc.
Bill has about 4 months more retraining to undergo before he can play the trombone again at a professional level. This would amount to about 16 additional lessons at $120/lesson, totaling $1,920. With the symphony no longer able to partially underwrite the lessons, he can no longer afford them.
Bill’s monthly living expenses amount to about $500, totaling $2000 for the four months.
Organizer and beneficiary
Chris T. Armstrong
Organizer
Kansas City, MO
William Damron
Beneficiary