Download the song for FREE here
Our good friend and long-time manager Ethan Bessey’s beautiful 6 month old son, Ezra, was recently diagnosed with Type I Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a fatal genetic disorder with a life expectancy of somewhere between 1 and 3 years. Currently SMA has no cure, so the Bessey’s are facing the difficult challenge of making little Ezra as comfortable as possible as the disease progresses.
Ethan’s wife Emily has been courageously writing about their journey in a blog at EzraDavid.wordpress.com. We recommend reading through the blog to learn their story. It will break your heart and make you hold your loved ones closer.
We are releasing a new song to raise money for the FSMA organization that has given the Besseys (and many other families) steadfast support in the face of this terrible disease. In addition to supporting families, FSMA also funds research for finding a cure for SMA.
We hope you’ll also join us in making a donation (of any amount) to FSMA in Ezra Bessey’s honor and we hope you’ll share this post with your friends. In exchange for a donation of any amount you will recieve a download of our recent end of the year single, “One More Trip,” a song that takes a look back on a hard year to find solace in memories and in love.
Please keep Ethan, Emily, Daisy, and Ezra Bessey in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season, and cherish your time with those you love.
– The Band of Heathens
Spinal Muscular Atrophy is the number one genetic killer of children under the age of two. SMA is an inherited and often fatal disease that destroys the nerves controlling voluntary muscle movement, which affects crawling, walking, head and neck control, and even swallowing. Two new-born children are affected each day in the United States, approximately 1 in 6,000 live births. One in every 40 people carries the gene that causes SMA, which means there are more than seven million carriers in the United States alone. Currently there is no treatment or cure.
Families of SMA is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1984 with the mission to find a treatment and cure for SMA. FSMA is made up of more than 85,000 members and supporters and has funded more than $53 Million in leading research programs since its inception.
Click here to learn more about Families of SMA and their programs.
Click here to go to the page to donate and download “One More Trip”