Support John Hansen's Battle with CIDP

A close friend of John's, Belinda Bowler, wrote the following:

"I have known John Hansen for nearly 50 years. In that time, I have had the

great honor to be his friend through the ups and downs of our lives, as well

as to share the stage as his musical partner at times. He is now facing new

challenges and needs our help.

Over five years ago, John started to have issues with weakness and

numbness in his hands and feet. As the pain in his hands progressed it

became difficult for him to play guitar. Anyone who has heard John play

guitar knows what this means. His mastery of the instrument is legendary,

his voice unforgettable. It was also his livelihood. His hands continued to

get worse, as did the symptoms in his feet and legs, until he could no

longer work and make a living as a performer. The initial diagnosis was

peripheral neuropathy which, as it turns out, did not address what was

really happening to him.

In April, after falling repeatedly as his legs gave out from under him, a trip

to the emergency room led to two weeks in the hospital and two more

weeks in rehab to try to stabilize his condition. During this time it was

recommended he get a new neurological assessment. After many weeks

of tests he was diagnosed with CIDP (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating

Polyradiculoneuropathy) a debilitating auto-immune disease which affects

the myelin sheath of the nerves.

There are treatments available that have shown a wide range of success in

helping some patients recover who otherwise might be spending the rest

of their lives in a wheelchair. John needs these treatments to regain some

of his mobility and continue living an independent life. The funds will allow

John to focus on treatments and physical therapy. Since he has been

unable to work for the last several years, the funds will help him catch up

and carry him through until he can work once again.

Thank you for helping our friend!"