James Lamar, the head of the Lady Dukes travel organization, continues to recover from having emergency heart surgery Tuesday night and, subsequently, having three more surgeries since then.
One source close to the coach and his health situation commented earlier Saturday:
“James has had a few setbacks, but he is continuing to fight.”
And the coach, who is the husband of Duke University head coach Marissa Young and four athletically talented children—Braylon, Layla, Jolyna and Kayden—is not alone in his recovery.
On Friday, a GoFundMe was set up to help the coach and his family with the financial costs of what is expected to be a lengthy recovery.
The goal of the GoFundMe, organized by Nicole Schaffer, is to raise $25,000 and–less than 24 hours after the launch of the online fundraiser–over $8,500 of the goal had been reached—more than one-third of the desired outcome—with 51 donors having already made contributions… some as much as $500 and even $1,000.
Click HERE to access the Coach James Lamar Fund
Schaffer wrote on the web page:
“As James and his family face his uphill battle with his health, we have begun to organize ways to support them. These ideas include providing meals and groceries, taking care of home obligations and responsibilities, covering travel for families coming into town, supplementing lost income, mitigating medical costs, and finding ways to ease the burdens that lie ahead for this amazing family.”
If there’s one key lesson to be learned from this trying medical week for Coach James and his family, according to Coach Marissa, it’s that one must pay attention to the body’s warning signs of potential problematic health issues.
She commented this morning regarding her husband’s hospitalization:
“I think this will provide great awareness and (lessons to be learned) for everyone that, if something is off health-wise, go get checked.”
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
Extra Inning Softball will continue to update Coach James’ status and if you’d like to send a note of support and well-wishes to be passed on to the family, email: info@extrainningsoftball.com under the heading “Coach James Lamar.”
