Hey everyone, I'm sitting in the hospital right now next to my buddy Sean. I first met Sean while he was hanging around backstage in 2011 at a music festival that one of my bands was playing. Since that day I've shared some incredible memories with him and he's grown to be one of my best friends in the world. Sean was diagnosed as a child with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. If you aren't really sure what DMD is, here's a brief description:
"Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed in childhood, affecting approximately 1 in every 3,500 live male births (about 20,000 new cases each year). Because the Duchenne gene is found on the X-chromosome, it primarily affects boys; however, it occurs across all races and cultures. Duchenne results in progressive loss of strength and is caused by a mutation in the gene that encodes for dystrophin. Because dystrophin is absent, the muscle cells are easily damaged. The progressive muscle weakness leads to serious medical problems, particularly issues relating to the heart and lungs. Young men with Duchenne typically live into their late twenties."
In 2011 Sean started a project called Spaghetti Arms to help raise awareness for DMD and fundraise money to donate to Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. You might have seen our Spaghetti Arms booth set up at Vans Warped Tour, The Bamboozle Festival, Skate and Surf Festival or possibly at a local event/festival in CT. Maybe you heard about the bike tour that Brian Marquis did back in September or even possibly heard about us through the compilation we did back in 2013: http://spaghettiarms.bandcamp.com/album/i-miss-my-legs
It's pretty incredible everything that Spaghetti Arms has been able to do up until this point but I think there's still a whole lot more work we can be doing to help the cause. We're not exactly sure what we plan to do this summer but there will definitely be some type of big music festival, compilation or something really special! For right now, I'd love for y'all to help support Spaghetti Arms in any way you can. Feel free to invite some of your friends to the Facebook page, come up with your own way to help or donate directly to the Spaghetti Arms PPMD campaign here: http://www.parentprojectmd.org/site/TR?px=1473211&fr_id=1110&pg=personal
If you have any questions, ideas to help or would like to get more involved with this project in the future, feel free to reach out to Kyle at: [email protected]
Please send your good vibes and love Sean's way and try to always take a minute before you start your day to acknowledge the simple and positive things in life. Peace and love to all <3