Captain James Sparks

 James Sparks was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease in April of 2017. James is an 19 year veteran firefighter for the Kansas City Kansas Fire Department.  He has a beautiful 14 year old daughter named Sophia. Every 90 minutes someone in the US is diagnosed with ALS.  The onset of ALS often involves muscle weakness or stiffness as early symptoms. Progression of weakness, wasting and paralysis of the muscles of the limbs and trunk as well as those that control vital functions such as speech, swallowing and later breathing generally follows.  There can be significant costs for medical care, equipment and home health caregiving later in the disease.  James continues to battle for his life against Amiotropic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), which has quickly made most activities of daily living nearly impossible for him to do without assistance. He has been accepted into the BRAINSTORM STUDY PROGRAM in San Francisco. As a part of the study he had his own stem cells harvested in July. And began his injections in August. 

Unfortunately, the study requires frequent trips to San Francisco for James and his care-givers, and travel costs add up quickly for a guy who was recently forced into early retirement. 

Let’s do all we can to help him fight this fight...