It was a way of saying they care. Members of Liberty Baptist Church held a fund-raiser Saturday for David Gore at the Hopeful Community Center.
Surgery for two brain tumors and his ongoing medical care racked up more than half a million dollars in medical bills. Bands from the area and from as far away as Macon and Tennessee donated their time as families gathered to eat lunch and fellowship to help raise funds for the Gore family’s living expenses.
Church spokespersons Bud Jones and Monyua Lowe explained Gore was diagnosed in February with two massive brain tumors. Within one month of the diagnosis David suffered a heart attack while at Piedmont Fayette Hospital and was flown to Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. Gore subsequently underwent surgery for the tumors, in which surgeons were able to remove about 90 percent of the tumor mass.
Gore is now undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments for the cancer that could not be removed. At this point David is bedridden and paralyzed on his left side, they said.
At this time David’s wife, Valerie, has sole responsibility for caring for her husband. Yet another blow entered the family’s life when Valerie lost her job when her company moved to California, organizers said. Lowe said the Gore family subsequently lost their home and will be moving in with the Lowe family in Jonesboro.
The Saturday fund-raiser saw the Hopeful Community Center on Ga. Highway 92 populated not only with families and friends, but with musicians playing gospel and country music.
Among those performing were gospel bands The Smith Family, Tennessee’s Heavenly Vision and the Liberty Pickers along with country Smith and Jones and The Sho-Nuff Country Band.
Country fans might recognize the name Ernest Jones. It was his gold fiddle and his comment to Charlie Daniels that “We’re they best that there is” that reportedly became a part of the song, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
“This is a family in crisis. This has left the Gore family with enormous needs and without an income with which to meet those needs. Medical bills at this time total over $500,000. The required medicine for David is over $500 per month,” Lowe and Jones said.
Though the fund-raiser is over, the needs for the Gore family are not. Those wishing to contribute can make the check payable to Liberty Baptist Church with David Gore indicated in the memo section. The church’s address is 1077 Hwy. 314, Fayetteville, GA 30214.
For more information contact Bud Jones at 404-391-0395 or Monyua Lowe at 770-603-8332.
