To know Sammy is to know a gentle giant. He’s truly one of a kind and, in many ways, a staple of our small-town North St. Paul community. If you know him, you know the kind of person he is.

Saturday evening was supposed to be nothing more than a fun night at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. Our friend group eventually split up, with some of us heading to the concert while others walked around the fair, taking in the sights and, of course, seeing what new foods made the list this year. We had plans to meet back up afterward.

Unfortunately, that meetup never happened the way we expected.

When we left the concert to find Sammy, we found him bleeding from the mouth, shaken, and badly injured.

Around 9:40 p.m., Sammy accidentally bumped into a group of young men while walking through the fair. What should have been an insignificant moment escalated into something unimaginable. The group attacked him, knocking him unconscious and kicking him in the face after he had fallen.

Sammy was taken to Regions Hospital, where he spent the next two days receiving care for his injuries. He suffered a significant fracture to the right side of his jaw, along with multiple smaller fractures across the front left side of his jaw. His injuries were severe enough that he required reconstructive surgery.

It’s difficult to put into words how heartbreaking it is to see someone as kind and gentle as Sammy endure something that was simply an accident.

What was supposed to be a fun night with friends turned into a terrifying experience and the beginning of what we know will be a long road to recovery.

Right now, we’re asking our community to come together for Sammy the way he has always shown up for the people around him. Any donation, no matter the amount, will help with the expenses that come with his hospitalization, surgery, recovery, and the time he will inevitably need away from his normal life while he heals.

If you’re not in a position to donate, sharing this fundraiser means just as much. Even simply keeping Sammy in your thoughts and checking in on him can make a difference.

Sammy is loved deeply by his friends, his family, and the community he has been a part of for so long. We want to make sure he knows that he doesn’t have to walk through this recovery alone.

Thank you to everyone who has already reached out, offered support, sent messages, or simply asked how Sammy is doing.

Now it’s our turn to show Sammy just how much he means to all of us.