New Teeth For Jimmy

This fundraiser has been created at the suggestion of community members in order to help raise the funds needed to replace my brother Jim’s teeth.

Jim, or Jimmy as he is known in the community, was hit by a car when he was 12 years old. The impact of that accident has been far reaching, from broken bones to an acquired brain injury, to damaged teeth and bullying as a result. Jim received reasonable sum of compensation at 18, which he used to purchase our family home outright. It wasn’t until a few years later that the accident’s effects on his teeth started to show and by then we, as a family, were cash strapped and struggling. 

Many times over the years he has encountered unkind people who have made him feel small and out of place, but most recently (August 27th 2020) he was assaulted by a stranger. James was walking to the bottle shop for a cheeky afternoon beer when he encountered a tradesman who he asked for a lift. The tradesman startedabusing Jim, telling him that his teeth were disgusting and that he wouldn’t help him. Jim explained what caused it and that he also had an ABI, which didn’t stop the abuse. The man continued to verbally abuse Jim until he walked away (after dropping a profane reply himself) and continued on his way. CCTV footage shows James leaving the bottle shop safe and well, grinning from ear to ear after his interaction with the staff there. 

Upon crossing the road and heading home, the man from earlier (now half an hour or more after the initial conversation) pulled up in his car, exited the vehicle and hitJim in the face, breaking his jaw in two places. He drove off before stopping again, but a stranger made himself known and the attacker was not able to cause any more harm. 

My brother is having surgery at the John Hunter Hospital, where he will have his jaw wired and all of the offending teeth removed. This is a small silver lining in an otherwise crushing series of events. 

My goal, as his sister, is to raise a reasonable amount of funds through the community who have shown such love and support since I reached out for help in finding his attacker. The funds raised will go directly to replacing a full mouthful of teeth for James so that he can have some of the confidence that most of us feel, and so that this awful event isn’t without some positive at the end. 

Times are exceedingly tough right now for most of us, and that fact isn’t lost on me or my family. We understand that there isn’t a lot of money to spare and do not wish to put anyone out. If you can’t support our fund but can share it, that would helpus reach more people and potentially reach our goal. 

As a family we have buckled down and adjusted our collective budgets in order to funnel any extra funds we have into saving for Jim’s teeth. I’ve set the goal at a conservative $10,000 and if surgery costs less (or we raise anything extra), funds will go towards repairing Jim’s broken electric bike so that he may move about the community safely. 

Thank you for taking the time to read, share and donate. Every tiny bit of support and love is of such great value to our family as this challenging time.

Stay safe and much love,
Dharna, James and the rest of the Johnsons.