One of the great things about the softball community is our ability to rally around those who hit tough times, particularly off the field.
A well-liked and successful leader in the sport for the past decade has been Andrew Burns, a championship-winning club coach most recently with the Birmingham Thunderbolts, who was recently diagnosed with a rare immune deficiency disorder requiring regular infusions along with the other diagnoses and treatments he’s been forced to undergo the last 18 months.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Andrew and his family to help with medical costs. A goal of $15,000 has been established and as of Tuesday (March 15, 2020) afternoon, nearly $12,000 has been raised.
Click HERE to go to the GoFundMe page to donate
Justin Kaplan, one of his fellow coaches in the Bolts organization, believes Burns is missed not just within their organization but in the sport overall :
“It would be hard to find a person in the softball world with a heart bigger than Andrew Burns. He has always been in it for the girls and dedicated so much time to helping them achieve their goals and chase their dreams. I miss seeing him around at practices and tournaments. I know he wishes he could be out there.”
Please help us promotion this campaign to assist the Burns family consisting of Andrew, his wife Amy and their three children: oldest son Luke, middle daughter and softball player Ashlyn, who competes for the Bolts 2024 – Green team, and youngest son Ace.
Coach Burns took his Birmingham Thunderbolts 2024 team to two PGF National Championship games—once in 2017, which was the first time any Birmingham Thunderbolts team had ever made it to a Premier division title game, before they lost the 10U championship in extra innings—and again in 2019 when his team won the PGF 12U Premier National Championship convincingly.
Prior to coaching with the Thunderbolts for five years, Andrew had coached for Nightmare Fastpitch and the Oxford Stingerz, as well as other sports teams for his three kids.
Unfortunately, Coach Burns was sidelined in 2020 with some unexplained health issues after having multiple surgeries.
While his health took him away from the Bolts, it also required him to leave his job as a manager for the recreation division at a military base in the Anniston/Oxford, Alabama area where he had worked for 17 years.
Andrew has seen doctors and specialists at the Florida Mayo Clinic, the University of Alabama-Birmingham Research Hospital, and other specialty clinics where they have diagnosed him with fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, neuropathy, enlarged organs, and most recently with a rare immunodeficiency disorder.
I spoke to Amy this afternoon and she said her husband is facing a treatment that will be ongoing from hereon out.
“We are in the process of getting ready for the weekly infusions that Andrew will have to have the rest of his life.”
As for how he’s feeling, she continued:
“He may have a good day or here there, but has to stay at the house a lot and be careful because he doesn’t have an immune system. Overall, he’s trying to make the best of it.”
The family has already incurred approximately $20,000 in medical bills and is set to start a new expensive treatment which will require weekly infusions from a home health service. The infusions will hopefully give him a “fake” immune system and prevent his own body from producing so-called “bad” proteins that are being sent throughout his body causing havoc.
On behalf of the staff at Extra Inning Softball we pray for the best for the Burns family and encourage all to cheer Andrew on as he continues through this medical journey.
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
If you would like to donate to Andrew’s GoFundMe page, click HERE.
