Steps of Faith: How "Ted Lasso" star Jason Sudeikis and friends brought hope and charity to amputees

3 days ago 11

It was a time earlier his show astatine the historical Uptown Theater successful downtown Kansas City, and Billy Brimblecom Jr. was already connected fire. Drumming is his life's crushed and rhythm. It's been that mode ever since helium archetypal heard "Wipe Out," that 1963 classical by The Surfers, connected his dad's car radio. "The drum solo, precise famous, comes on, and I commencement doing that connected the dash, precise poorly, and he's like, 'Oh you wanna play the drums? All right!'" Brimblecom said. "At that moment, I was like, 'Yes, I do!'"

But 20 years ago, a doc gave him quality that helium feared mightiness person him walking to a antithetic bushed altogether: "'Okay, there's a wide that's the size of a ample pome successful your ankle.' The past happening helium said was, 'If it is simply a sarcoma, we person to region the sarcoma, and everything that it is touching.' I said, 'So...?' And helium said, 'The lone crushed you would suffer your limb would beryllium to prevention your life.'"

It was a sarcoma. Brimblecom went done 13 rounds of chemotherapy. "The happening I feared the astir was losing my leg," helium said. "You know, 'risking beingness oregon limb' is simply a crook of phrase. What does that imply? Second to death, the worst happening that you could deliberation of is losing a limb."

When the inevitable came, his limb was amputated close supra the knee.

Brimblecom's bandmates and friends rallied astir him, including 1 of his oldest friends from Kansas City, Jason Sudeikis.

Sudeikis is known arsenic the rubric quality successful Apple TV's "Ted Lasso," who has a acquisition for the aspirational: "You know, I deliberation that erstwhile you attraction astir someone, and you got a small emotion successful your heart, determination ain't thing you can't get done together, you cognize what I'm saying?"

That benignant of knowing was conscionable what Brimblecom needed from his friend, adjacent if Sudeikis wasn't precisely definite what to say. "You don't needfully cognize however to – like, bash you connection support? Solutions? You're sorta like, Oh, right, mortality. Okay," helium said.

The 2 had met astatine an improv store successful Kansas City. Brimblecom went connected to beryllium a nonrecreational instrumentalist successful Nashville, and Sudeikis landed connected "Saturday Night Live." In 2006, erstwhile Sudeikis learned security would lone screen astir fractional of Brimblecom's $60,000 prosthetic leg, helium did what friends do.

"I retrieve you said, 'We'll conscionable Kansas City the crap retired of it!'" Brimblecom recalled. "And we knew what that meant."

Sudeikis helped signifier a bully aged fashioned Kansas City barbecue. It raised much than capable wealth to get Brimblecom a caller leg. But that was really the slightest of it. A fundraiser for a person is present an yearly affable jam session, called Thundergong!

Sudeikis brought plentifulness of others on for the ride, including chap formed members similar Hanna Waddingham, from "Ted Lasso," and Will Forte, from "SNL." They showed up to assistance simply due to the fact that helium asked.

Asked however it feels, Sudeikis replied, "Oh, it's the best. Like, past year, Flavor Flave, like, jumped successful with 2 feet, and a clock!"

Will Forte & friends screen "Soda Pop" from "KPop Demon Hunters" astatine Thundergong! 2025:

"Soda Pop” (KPop Demon Hunters cover) • Will Forte & friends • THUNDERGONG! 2025 by Steps Of Faith Foundation on YouTube

To date, Thundergong! has helped wage for prosthetic limbs for much than 2,000 amputees each implicit the state done a nonprofit called Steps of Faith, aiding amputees who deficiency wellness insurance, oregon person nary prosthesis sum with their wellness insurance. Brimblecom said, "The happening that was preventing maine from conscionable walking astir connected a prosthetic limb versus utilizing crutches, oregon being successful a wheelchair, is security and money. You know, that shouldn't beryllium a barrier."

Brimblecom became the CEO of Steps of Faith aft helium tried to cheer up idiosyncratic other who had mislaid their ain leg, and helium realized something: "I went in, and I talked to the feline for 5 minutes. I don't adjacent retrieve what I said, but I retrieve however I felt, and however helium was looking astatine me. I could conscionable spot the excitement, and the anticipation successful his eyes, and it was existent positive. And I said, 'Gosh, I privation that could beryllium my job.'"

It's not an casual job. About 500 radical suffer a limb every day successful the U.S. The terms of a prosthesis tin beryllium anyplace from a fewer 1000 to much than $100,000. "This is not, I tin thrust a Honda but take a Ferrari," said Brimblecom. "None of that applies erstwhile it comes to your limbs."

Imagine you're a contractor similar Josh Conner. In 2015 helium fell 2 stories disconnected a scaffolding. "I figured if I landed connected my feet, I'd beryllium alright," helium said. "But that's wasn't the case."

His bottommost was shattered; an corruption did the rest, and helium mislaid his leg.

The archetypal prosthesis Conner was fixed did not spend him precise overmuch mobility. It was each his worker's comp would wage for. He could locomotion with it, but not enactment successful it.

He was looking astatine a beingness connected disability, until Billy Brimblecom and Steps of Faith stepped in. "Billy conscionable said, 'We gotcha,'" Conner said.

And what went done his mind? "Total disbelief. It was a precise affectional thing," Conner said.

He is backmost to enactment now, connected stilts nary less, with a caller prosthetic limb tailored specifically to him. "Steps of Faith has fixed maine my assurance backmost – you know, everything," Conner said. "So, it's similar a caller beingness almost."

Stories similar that person not lone kept Sudeikis coming back, but countless different actors and musicians arsenic well. Many person go regulars, similar Brendan Hunt, who sang a David Bowie opus dressed arsenic helium did successful "Ted Lasso," arsenic "Piggy" Stardust. "The main happening is, this is simply a legit enactment that does a truly legit, you know, unimpeachably bully thing," Hunt said. "I would person to combat truly hard to find a crushed not to bash it."

It gets bigger each year, and this clip astir Thundergong! raised .. drum rotation delight … much than $1 cardinal for Steps of Faith.

Friendship is infectious. All the things friends bash for each other? They're doing for strangers.

"It's astir hope, confidence, surviving, and thriving," said Brimblecom.

"To bash thing that you emotion with radical you love, to assistance radical you whitethorn ne'er meet, I privation it connected everyone," said Sudeikis.

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Story produced by Amol Mhatre. Editor: Lauren Barnello.