June 23, 2004
Community steps up to aid Smith
Fund-raiser dinner and auction benefits 32-year-old struck by severe brain aneurysm
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
The donations are rolling in on an unprecedented scale: a full garden installation, 300 pies, chips and salsa for hundreds, a complete wedding package including cake, flowers and the chapel at the Frog Pond Village.
Struck by a severe brain aneurysm on June 13, Jimmy Smith is finding out what community means.
A warm, well-liked man described as a great friend and nice guy, Smith was an icon at Mabel's for 17 years, working as manager for ten years. Just 32 years old in February, Smith left Mabel's a year ago to pursue other interests and hence the rub: no health insurance to cover medical bills quickly heading for the stratosphere.
In stepped friends from around the area. And friends of friends and then their friends - everyone generating money to help with his recovery and defray some expenses. Dorothy Dunville, a co-worker from Mabel's, created a massive spaghetti dinner and fund-raiser in Smith's honor. Scheduled for June 29 at the American Military League, the dinner also includes a live and a silent auction featuring hundreds of items.
"So many people have given so many gifts to try to help him, there are donations from everybody," noted Dunville, who said the fund-raiser blossomed almost overnight. "He's the greatest guy."
Underneath the financial help is an outpouring of love and support for Smith, who was buoyed by thousands of prayers during the most critical hours and days. Termed a hopeless case by medical professionals because of the huge blood clot, Smith's recovery borders on the miraculous. He moved out of the Intensive Care Unit Sunday, a week from the incident, and began occupational therapy yesterday.
"When I first talked to the doctor in the hospital, the doctor's exact words were he wasn't sure Jim was salvageable, he said that three times," said Harley Wales, a close friend. "That really set things in perspective. From that point on, it has been just amazing."
Wales said that from the first day, Smith was on almost every prayer network throughout the state, spanning denominations and geography.
"When we talked to him, the next day [after the aneurysm] he moved his right hand then he started talking," Wales said. "He is still incoherent at times though I can usually understand him. It is going to take a lot of therapy, it's going to be rough."
This week, Wales explained the extensive support to Smith and said they both cried, overwhelmed by it all.
"It is absolutely phenomenal, the donations are just incredible donations," he said. "Everybody's pulled together and we have more friends than we imagined. Everyone has volunteered everything they could possibly do."
Donna Courtney, owner of Cedar Hedge Gardens in Interlochen, immediately stepped in to help. She donated the garden and her husband is building a trellis for the highest bidder of that package. She also phoned nursery friends around the region and donations have been pouring in, a meaningful tribute as Smith is a devoted gardener.
"He's such a sweet kid, he's a very good friend of mine and he's like my son," Courtney said. "I've got lots of businesses that are helping out and friends and my daughter is doing the wedding, she even got Frog Pond Village to donate their chapel."
"People have been so supportive, everybody knows Jimmy," she continued. "For something like this to happen at that age, it is unbelievable."
The fund-raiser for Jimmy Smith will be held on Tuesday, June 29, with dinner served from 6-8 p.m. A silent auction will be conducted during dinner and a live auction will follow. The fund-raiser will be held at the American Military League, 2423 Sybrandt Road, near the Sara Lee Outlet Store. For more information, call Dorothy Dunville at 938-9386.