A Muskegon father of five suffering from multiple sclerosis is hoping to raise enough money to pay for stem cell therapy in Mexico. While the disease has intensified in the past three years, Brandon Beach says when he first found out that he had been diagnosed with MS, he didn’t believe it.
“I didn’t have any real symptoms at that time, so I guess I was in denial, I thought (the doctors) were probably wrong. Well, they weren’t," Beach said. “Pain throughout my body that is probably one of the biggest things. And having (lost) my balance, not being able to do the simple everyday things is probably the worst.”
Watching her husband deteriorate has been especially hard on his wife Brenda.
“So I married this amazing man, she said. "And this disease has stolen everything from us.”
While there’s no cure for MS, a promising treatment using an aggressive Stem Cell transplant approach has in many cases, shown to stop the disease in its tracks. Some patients even have a reversal in symptoms such as vision loss, muscle weakness and balance loss.
So far, the FDA hasn’t approved the surgery here in the United States, forcing the Beach's to seek treatment in Mexico. Unfortunately, the surgery comes with a price tag of $65,000, and the Beach's medical insurance does not cover it.
To date, the Beach family has raised about a third of that through an online fundraising campaign on YouCare.com. Brenda says she’s eternally grateful for those who have donated so far.
"We have this opportunity and I don’t take that likely at all," she said. "We have a chance at our life back."
Brandon, a Christian, says he is relying on his faith to see him through.
“I just say come on God, you have to take this. Because this is too much for me,” he said.
You can find The Help the Beach Family Defeat Multiple Sclerosis fundraiser by following this link:
https://www.youcaring.com/thebeachfamily-900735
They need to reach their goal by April 1st.
