Meet Brandon Beach Who's Battling MS and Heading to Mexico For Treatment

A few days ago, I got a note and was told about a family up in Northern Muskegon County who's plugging along and doing what they can to get a treatment for an MS diagnosis.  Multiple Sclerosis is one of those diseases that continues to befuddle us.  The symptoms are devastating, progressive and treatment...well, it could be better.  However...there is some hope for the Beach family, but...it's a long road ahead and it's going to be costly and filled with a lot of faith.

Follow the Beach Family Journey on Facebook

Brandon and Brenda Beach live up off 120.  Brandon is an RN and Brenda works at Dental Impressions.  Together they have a nice family, including a United States Marine. Brandon has been struggling with MS for over a decade now, but in the last 5 years or so... it's advanced rather quickly and things have gotten harder and harder for him, and harder and harder on the family.  Every day activities we take for granted.  Walking...talking...swallowing...all no longer an easy task and while mom and dad do their best to keep a game face going, the toll it takes on the kids is pretty hard too.  After all, let's be honest...parents all seem infallible.  To see them struggle and have to jump in to help them before you're actually an adult too...well, it's tough. 

There is a treatment for this MS diagnosis. It's available here, however, it's not FDA approved and it's very limited.  A lot of insurance companies won't cover it and if a person sought out the treatment here, out of pocket..you're looking at $150,000 plus.  Time is essential, and the Beach family can't sit around and wait for it, so in April, they are heading to a world leading clinic in the procedure he needs with their daughters for a month.... the cost....$54,000.  I'm not going to go off on a rant here or anything, but wouldn't you think that we could do better than that in healthcare?  None the less, Brandon is a husband, father and healer and his time has come to need a little care of his own.  Of course, the Muskegon community is coming together to help him.

There are a variety of events coming up over the next couple of months, there is of course a way to donate online and as I visited the Beach family at their home today after church, there was one thing that was amazingly clear...they are relying heavily on faith to pull through.  Take a listen to our chat below to learn a little more about the the diagnosis, the process and the next steps coming up to April 1st when they head to Mexico.

Strength, determination and togetherness.  The power of love is amazing and to know that this one family has been given so much to deal with and yet they maintain a positive attitude, still try to find a way to better others with what their experience teaches them and the fact that they just don't throw in the towel and admit defeat...well, in my humble opinion....the Beach family defines Muskegon.  They are all of us....and we are them.  We don't quit...we don't give up on each other and we don't for a second rest when someone, somewhere in our home needs us.  We're already looking forward to the followup visit when the procedure is over to show you the victory.  Until then, you can find a link below to lend a hand to the Beach family if you are so inclined, and you'll find a full schedule of events on their Facebook page linked in the family photo above.