Community rallies to help child in need

When a little boy needed help, this tight-knit farming community came to his rescue.

The response has been overwhelming.

“At a time when the economy is so bad,” Lumber Bridge resident Marvin Lynne Maxwell said, “the heart is strong.”

This is the story of 6-year-old Nate Forbis, who needs a kidney transplant. And of his neighbor down the street, Alan Brunnet, who turned out to be a willing donor and a perfect match.

It is also the story of the kind-hearted people from the little church that both families attend who are mobilizing all the resources they can find in an effort to help.

“Our goal is 3,000 plates,” Maxwell said.

Nate was 18 months old and seemingly a normal toddler before his family found out something was wrong.

“He was wide open,” said his father, Lumber Bridge farmer Henry Forbis. “He still is.”

But Nate was born with just one kidney, a fact revealed by ultrasound. People can survive with only one kidney, but Nate’s was functioning at only 15 percent. At less than 10 percent, doctors recommend dialysis.

Doctors said Nate would eventually need a transplant, but they wanted to delay the operation as long as possible.

The time, however, arrived when Nate could no longer live the life of a normal child with his original kidney. He was put on the transplant list. Along the way, he also was put on the prayer list at Lumber Bridge Presbyterian Church.

That’s where Brunnet saw Nate’s name.

Brunnet, who will soon turn 50, said he felt led by God to find out whether he was a match for Nate.

When it turned out that indeed he was, Brunnet didn’t hesitate. Both surgeries are scheduled for Oct. 6 at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.

“I was in the Army 20 years and jumped out of an airplane for 17 years,” Brunnet said. “You know what I’m worried about? I’m worried that something’s going to happen to me that I can’t give him.”

Henry Forbis is a third-generation farmer who has worked hard all his life in Lumber Bridge. His parents, Marylen and Elbert, know most everyone in town.

When church members found out Nate would undergo a kidney transplant, they knew the medical expenses would accumulate quickly.

They decided to organize a plate sale to help. The next thing they knew, everyone seemed to want to pitch in.

“Around here, somebody’s pain is everybody’s pain,” said Maxwell, who has helped organize the Oct. 2 plate sale. Maxwell and her husband, Jimmy, and Jackie and Britt Riddle are heading the event.

“One church called and pledged a cake,” Maxwell said. “Another church called and offered to come serve. Businesses offered to help. It has just mushroomed.”

Henry Forbis says that adequate words are difficult to find. How, after all, do you thank someone who is giving your child the gift of life? Or people who are doing so much to ease the burden you are carrying?

“It makes me feel good,” he said. “I’ve been kind of blown away.”

via FayObserver.com – Community rallies to help child in need. By Kim Hasty