Help Yuta Fukazawa

My name is Rima and I am fundraising for Yuta Fukazawa. I manage the Bellevue Ultimate team that he plays for. Yuta was gravely injured a few weeks ago in an accident and has a high-level spinal cord injury. Written with the help of his mother, Yuka, here is Yuta’s story:

After moving to Bellevue with his family, Yuta found a warm welcome at Ultimate camp in the summer, and that awakened in him a love of sports and running. This season, Yuta contacted me out of the blue about joining our Eastside team. He showed up on time and ready to play, and gave his all at each practice and game.

Always an active guy, he kept up with Ultimate over this summer. After practice on Thursday, July 15, he headed off to play basketball with friends. While there, he suffered an injury that will change his life forever. He ended up at Harborview’s ICU, intubated and paralyzed. Yuta will never walk again, let alone play Ultimate, and it is unclear how much lasting paralysis he will have above the waist. One week in, he has already had two surgeries and has powered through them just like he powered through our games. We have faith he will work to grab any little bit of recovery he can.

Yuta graduated from Interlake high school’s IB program in June 2021 and prepared to head off to college, with a goal of becoming a doctor in a specialty related to sports and helping average people continue to be active. He ran cross country and track for his high school, and with a group of friends founded a nonprofit called Stay Running, which focuses on encouraging young people to take up running for its physical and mental health benefits.

We are raising funds to help Yuta’s family with medical expenses, lost income, and ongoing care needs at home. Yuta will also need modifications made to his home, and insurance does not cover much beyond the basics. Having had a parent in a wheelchair myself, I know that “just the basics” is not that great and being able to get things set up how they work best for a person’s specific needs makes a huge difference in quality of life.

Please join with us to raise funds to help Yuta and his family prepare for the big adjustments headed their way. Their determination and strength will see them much of the way, and your generous financial assistance will be crucial for them to meet the remaining challenges.

Thank you for your kindness in donating to help Yuta!