Help Jamaican Firefighter Fabian Fight ALS

From the beautiful Island of Jamaica, Fabian Cowan, has humbly served as a member of the Jamaica Fire Brigade for over 19 years. He is a husband to Nicola Cowan, of whom he shares two beautiful children with: Marcus, 19 and Kamala, 7. Fabian loves to be outdoors and spending time with his family.


In 2018 Fabian was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a disease of the nervous system that weakens muscles hence, impacting physical function. The disease has drastically taken a toll on Fabian’s ability to complete daily, routine tasks - and to a further extent his family - since its onset. He is no longer able to serve at the Jamaica Fire Brigade and no longer able to fully care for himself. So much so that his wife has the painful and difficult task of turning him at nights, every four hours to avoid bed sores and to support blood circulation.

The JFB, its members and friends have shown Fabian and his family tremendous support by helping to build a ramp, in March 2019,  to allow for ease of access in and out of the house while he was still able to use a walker. Then the JFB helped to obtain a wheelchair after it became evident that Fabian was no longer able to use the walker.


Treatment for this disease is currently not available in Jamaica, hence, Fabian was referred to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida and with the support of the Jamaica Fire Brigade he and Nicola entered the United States on October 1, 2019.

Their visit to the US was for a month and proved to be productive as assessments were done and recommendations were given by the attending physicians. It was recommended for Fabian’s weight to be increased, continuous physical therapy and most importantly obtaining a breathing machine and a cough assist machine. 

It is extremely important that Fabian gets a BI-PAP to help with his breathing as at the time of visit to Jackson Memorial Hospital Fabian’s forced vital capacity was at 27%. This is the respiratory measure of ALS patients’ respiratory function.

The approximate cost of a BI-PAP ST is $3999 (with the mask) and Cough Assist T70 is $5980. They will also need assistance with airfare for round trip travel to the US, approximately $860, so that the team at Jackson Memorial can apply the necessary settings to both machines according to Fabian’s specific needs.

We expect their visit to Jackson Memorial to be for a week, however, the budget includes accommodations for two weeks, approximately $2745, in the event of any unforeseen circumstances. The budget also includes meals and  cost of ground transportation.

Fabian and his wife are desperately in need of these funds so that treatment can be administered immediately. His next appointment at Jackson Memorial is scheduled for November 22, 2019 and it is now a race against time as the breathing machine should have been obtained months ago. However, this appointment date is tentative and dependent on how soon the funds are acquired. The machine will help to improve his quality of life and to afford him more time with his family during this very wearisome and difficult season of their lives.

We are, therefore, urgently requesting your assistance in donating to help Firefighter Fabian Fight ALS!