Hajime's ALS Fund
Hajime, our 23-year-old son is fighting ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease). ALS, commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a serious progressive neurological disease that causes muscle weakness, disability and eventually death. For Hajime, the first symptoms of this insidious disease and the most obvious, were trembles and weakness in his left hand in May, 2010. Soon after, the deterioration of his speech appeared. In Oct. 2010, he was diagnosed with ALS at only 17 yr's old. Because of this rapid progression, he is now bedridden and has become completely paralyzed with feeding and breathing tubes for nearly four years. Furthermore, his muscles for eye movement and eyelids are also affected, meaning he's already in Total Locked-In Syndrome. Before his eyes are completely paralyzed, we want to take him outside as often as possible to give him opportunities to visit places where he want to go. However, we have no wheelchair van and can't afford to own or rent one. Insurance also doesn't pay for all of the medical supplies Hajime requires and there are a lot of non-medical, but disease related supplies that Hajime needs. We need wheelchair van, but we simply don’t have the money to make it anymore. We are asking for your help...