Help James cover Multiple Sclerosis medical bills

Thank you all SO much for the donations that have been made so far!! James has been able to pay off a good size chunk of the medical bills that have been piling up, but there’s still a long way to go! 

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About six months ago James started to feel weird in his legs, especially walking down a flight of stairs. He also has neuropathy in his feet and thought maybe it was that. He asked his neurologist about it and she had him go and get an MRI on his brain to see what was going on. She got the results back and was very concerned about what she saw. She said that it looked like it was indicative of Multiple Sclerosis, so she sent him to get another more detailed MRI and a spinal tap. James scheduled both of them and then the doctor called back saying she wanted the tests done that day. So she pulled some strings and he was able to get them the same day. An hour later she called and said James needed to go to the hospital immediately. He went and had a spinal tap within 20 minutes of getting there.

Then he spent the next four days in the hospital hooked up to IV's getting steroid infusions. He was having a serious flare up and didn't even know it! So he's probably had MS for several years, completely unaware. James' Multiple Sclerosis is very aggressive and is affecting his brain and spine. The treatment he will be getting is very expensive, around $75,000. These treatments are necessary in order to stop the progress of the MS. 

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From Mayoclinic.com:

• Multiple sclerosis (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. Eventually, the disease can cause permanent damage or deterioration of the nerves.
• Signs and symptoms of MS vary widely and depend on the amount of nerve damage and which nerves are affected. Some people with severe MS may lose the ability to walk independently or at all, while others may experience long periods of remission without any new symptoms.
• There's no cure for multiple sclerosis. However, treatments can help speed recovery from attacks, modify the course of the disease and manage symptoms.

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"I was born in 1971 in Barranquilla Colombia , South America. After living in North Carolina, Tennessee, and California I finally ended up in El Paso, Texas where at the age of 14 got my first guitar. Something about it just felt right in my hands even though it was just a crappy little 3/4 size acoustic. As if my hands were waiting for something familiar like a firm but comfortable handshake from a long lost uncle or something. Well I've always been a bit lazy so it took awhile before I could play anything recognizable, but eventually I could play a Metallica riff or two. I always looked up to my friends that were in bands and could play stuff that to me, seemed like magic.

Then I moved to phoenix Arizona in 1991 and everything changed. I met these two dudes who were like extremist wizards or something, and they could play. I mean they could really play, stuff that was way beyond my skill level and they still do. So they took me under their wings and my real education began. I practiced everything they gave me like a fiend! No more laziness because for the first time I realized this is something I could really do, not just tinker with it.

Guitar had always felt familiar but now it was a solid truth. I could actually express myself musically through it. I could play things that I thought would only be things my heroes could do. I was finally in the club!

I met another mentor and inspiration and started a band. First one for me, probably the tenth one for him. But it was real and I finally knew what it felt like to truly create, not just for myself but for other people too. It was awesome. Then I decided to move to Austin, Texas, self-proclaimed live music capitol of the world! Well I don't know about all that but there was plenty of live music for sure, and I became part of that as well as my band.

Now this year it's my bands 25th anniversary of still somehow being a band! We are supposed to put out a record this year and we will but its a little different this time. This time I have a new challenge to contend with. A scary challenge to be sure, but also a doable one. I think.

This MS thing is still so new, I'm still struggling how to process it.

I can tell you that I'm not giving up, not at all. Music is now more important than ever for me, just have to attack it in a new way, which I'm still figuring out. I was very active and athletic as a kid so it's weird to think that I'm so far removed from that now. As Stallone in First Blood says in his closing scene - "I'm driving this car till the wheels fall off."

I haven't noticed anything in my hands yet, but definitely the legs. I will be starting treatment soon and am optimistic about results. I've cried plenty about it so now its time to laugh and take it as it comes. The support I've gotten so far has been amazing and I'm truly touched by it. Kind of restores some faith in humanity. I don't know what I've done to deserve such good friends but I'm gratefu