Gary's FEE for appearing, NOT the prize money, which is non-existent, is being donated to this
Welcome to the Busey Foundation for Children’s Kawasaki Disease Education and Research website!
Luke Busey The Busey Family Foundation was established in 2012 by actor Gary Busey and his fiancée, Steffanie Sampson. The Foundation’s purpose is to raise funds for the awareness, education and research for Kawasaki Disease, (“KD”), and to provide funding for families who are unable to afford the proper treatment of this disease.
Luke Busey, son of Gary Busey and Steffanie Sampson was diagnosed with KD at the age of 15 months and required hospitalization for two weeks while being treated. The episode was extremely traumatic for the entire family, because Luke, since his birth, had been the picture of robust health, and nobody in Luke’s family had ever heard of this insidious disease, which, as they learned during the course of hospital treatment, carried with it the possibility of lifelong disability or even fatal consequences. The challenge with the treatment of KD is that the symptoms mimic other childhood diseases and often times it is not diagnosed and treated in time. When treating KD, time is of the essence. If not diagnosed and treated within ten days of its onset, a once healthy child can become terminally ill.
KD occurs predominately in babies and children under the age of five years and affects roughly 15 out of every 100,000 children in the United States. In spite of this fact, the disease remains largely unknown by not only the American public but by doctors also, who spend a very short time studying this disease while in Medical School.
At present, the cause of KD is still unknown.
The Foundation was borne after the Busey Family was approached by the doctor who treated Luke at Cedars Sinai Hospital, to help with fundrasing for his research on KD. The Foundation welcomes affiliation with all health organizations, whether local or national.
