Hi Everyone,

My name is Desiree Biermann and I am raising money for my dear friend James Buckley.  Buckley was one of the first people I met and one of my best friends my freshman year of college 20 years ago.  We have remained close friends for all these years and it absolutely breaks my heart to see what he is going through physically and mentally.  
You see, Buckley was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) at the young age of 28 years old.  He was living his dream of being a pilot and traveling the world.  One of the many things this disease took from Buckley is his ability to do the one thing he has wanted to do his whole life...be a pilot.  His body began to deteriorate and become damaged from this disease and he could no longer do many of the things he loved doing.  

For those of you who might not know, let me explain what MS is:
MS is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). In MS the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body. This can cause problems with vision, balance, muscle control and other basic body functions.  All of which have happenedto Buckley.

It is absolutely heartbreaking to not be able to help your friend while this disease breaks him down and destroys his life.  At first, it was just some muscle spasms and not being able to stand for very long to now needing a wheelchair part-time, a cane and a walker.

There is no hope for MS patients in the US except to look forward to a lifetime of drugs to try to stop the disease.  I happened to come across an article about a stem cell replacement therapy surgery that was being used and successful at curing MS in other countries.  I sent the information to Buckley and you could see the excitment in his email back to me.  He dove into researching this procedure. He told me it is not offered here in the US except experimentally to a certain group of MS patients that he does not qualify for.  It was a huge let down to know it was out there but untouchable.  The other night, I was praying for Buckley and it popped into my head to raise money for his surgery!!  I was energized again as I knew God would make it happen.

This is what I am raising money for.  What is Buckley's Beacon of Hope?  It's this surgery.  It is called HSCT, which stands for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and it is Buckley's only hope for a brighter future here on earth.  The surgery Buckley has selected is combined with chemotherapy.  The chemo kills the MS and then new stem cells are tranplanted to reboot the body's system. This procedure is curing MS in several different countries, however, only a handlful of countries offer it combined with the chemo.  

The surgery will cost approximately $55,000 plus flights, hotels, recovery, general expenses and loss of work which brings us to our goal of $75,000.  The faster we reach are goal the sooner Buckley can get this procedure and get his life back and help others with MS.

This means so much to me to be able to do this for my friend, to save his life, restore his bright future.  I know with God's help and your help we can do this for Buckley.  It is also important to raise awareness for this surgery!!  There are thousands of people suffering just like Buckley who can be saved by this procedure.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving to keep the light bright for Buckley's Beacon of Hope.

Love and God bless,

Desiree