Support Steve in his battle against ALS

Hello! I am Jeff Curran and I am launching this fundraiser to help my dear friend and longtime student, Steve Koscinski. This is a story about Steve, Jiu-Jitsu and his battle with ALS. Steve started training Jiu-Jitsu in the fall of 2015 at Team Curran in Crystal Lake, IL. He had just come back from rehab, choosing sobriety and a better life for himself and his family. He took to Jiu-Jitsu right away, enjoying training and the people he met at my academy. In January 2016, his son, Tommy, started Jiu-Jitsu as well. It was a fun and healthy thing they could do together. After Tommy began training, Steve began volunteering his time at Team Curran to not only help all the kids and staff, but to spend quality time with his son, Tommy.

In early 2017, Steve sustained a knee injury while on the mats. He had some fluid drained from the knee, and we all thought after recovering, Steve would go right back to training as normal. But it didn’t happen that way. He started having trouble running and would sometimes take a random fall during class. Not only that, walking upstairs became very difficult and things such as cutting the grass became almost impossible. Steve and his wife, Megaen, went to many doctor’s appointments and Steve had many treatments and tests done – getting the answer to what was going on wasn’t easy. After 3 years of searching and as the difficulty of walking progressed, Steve and Megaen found themselves at the Les Turner ALS clinic downtown Chicago.

On August 11, 2020, Steve was officially diagnosed with ALS. There are no words to explain that moment him and his family went through. We were all very saddened to hear this news.

Regardless of the horrible diagnosis, Steve continued to to train Jiu-Jitsu. He went to classes 5-6 days a week although his mobility and use of his legs worsened by the day. He is thankful that he was able to attend a couple of my Retreats in FL but since his last one in Feb of 2022, he has been unable to travel. Steve has continually worked hard against ALS and the physical difficulties it brings him.

It is my hope to raise funds that will help Steve and his family through this challenging time. His doctors have made it clear that the time on the mat has definitely helped keep him in better condition. Steve rides his scooter to and from the academy and struggles to get on and off the mat. With colder and more inclement weather here, it is going to be more difficult for him to get to the gym. It's my hope that the BJJ Community and his teammates at Team Curran get in his corner in this uphill battle. Thank You.