Donate to Jared Smith's Critical Care Fund & Stroke Recovery

I remember the first time we met Jared (Jay) Smith. A part of the tribe of people that hit the gym at 5am, rain or shine, we saw him every day and knew him as the friendly, hard-working guy on the bench press. So when he approached us one day and asked if we wanted to hang out sometime, we were a little suprised but were happy for the opportunity to make a new friend.

An impromptu dinner has since led to family get-togethers, attending his wedding, meeting his extended family and even vacationing together for the first time he ever left the country.

Anyone who knows Jared understands he is the most loving, sincere and kind-hearted person. He actually is the guy that would give you the shirt off his back. So when we discovered that he was diagnosed with heart failure not even 3 weeks ago, everyone was shocked. He still handled it with his stubborn, yet cheerful attitude and felt relieved it was taken care of.

The catastrophe: 4 days ago, while at home with his loving wife, Susan, Jared-who is only 46-suffered a catastrophic stroke that involved the entire left hemisphere of his brain. He was rushed to the hospital and an intervention was performed, but Jared was still paralyzed on the entire right side of his body. In the coming days, he had emergency brain surgery for swelling, followed by bleeding and now dealing with blood clots in other parts of his body. Needless to say, Susan has been there with him every step of the way, being his number one cheerleader and advocate. His children, Kempton (10) and Waverlee (7) are praying for their father as are his network of loving family and friends.

Jared is still in critical condition, and we are praying for him to turn the corner. Although it is likely that he will require more procedures, what is of certainty is that he has a long road ahead of him to recover from these events. We are asking for any donations, no matter how big or small, to help Jared and Susan get through this critical time in their lives.

We appreciate all of the love and well wishes from the community. Thank you in advance for all of your support.