Support for mauled girl: Cards of concern

By Gina Morton
The Daily Item

April 22, 2009 07:18 am

— LEWISBURG — Handmade get-well cards from Kelly Elementary School third-graders highlighted an outpouring of support Tuesday for a 9-year-old Kulpmont girl who was mauled Sunday by a dog.
Their former classmate, Amanda Smith, moved from the Lewisburg Area School District about two weeks ago, Principal Dustin Dalton said.
Amanda’s former teacher, Jodi Jarrett, hand-delivered more than 60 cards to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, where Amanda is hospitalized after being attacked by a bullmastiff in an alley off Chestnut Street in Kulpmont.
Amanda was listed in fair but stable condition Tuesday night.
“She is still a part of our kids,” Dalton said. “We’re family here. For 180 days a year, we cry together, learn together and play together. We’re going to give her as much support as we can.”
Jarrett said several students came to class Tuesday morning with a copy of The Daily Item’s report of their friend, immediately asking what had happened. Creating the cards served as therapy for the students, Jarrett said.
“They were really concerned,” Jarrett said. “Doing the cards was a way to process their feelings. She was a very popular girl and always seemed to be in the center of things. Our students wanted to do something to help her and her family.”
Amanda suffered multiple fractures. Her sinuses were torn out, her skull punctured, her jaw broken and the bridge of her nose ripped away, family members said.
The dog was taken to the Sunbury Animal Hospital for 10 days of observation.
It wasn’t just Amanda’s former classmates who were reaching out to help. Multiple phone calls and e-mails were received by The Daily Item from area residents, like Mandie Morgan of Coal Township, eager to help out the young girl and her family through financial support.
“When you hear something like that, it hits so close to him,” Morgan said on Tuesday. “It broke my heart.”
Morgan said she has a 9-year-old daughter and if she were in that situation she also would be thankful of the community’s help.
She and a few of her co-workers were hoping to pitch in money and help the Smith family afford a night or two at a hotel to stay close to Amanda.
“It’s leaves you speechless,” Morgan said. “It’s a devastating thing. It’s so tragic.”
Jody Cervantes, a relative of Amanda’s, said the family is in the process of setting up a fund at an area bank, but it will take a few days until it’s finalized.
The name and address of the fund will be published.
For now, Cervantes said the family is doing well despite not hearing much from hospital officials.
“(Officials) just keep telling that the next 72 hours are crucial,” she said. “There are no huge signs of improvement, but she’s not deteriorating.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, Cervantes said Amanda had been breathing on her own and the breathing tube had been removed.
The fact that so many community residents and businesses have been offering to help the family is overwhelming and greatly appreciated, she said.
“It’s very heartwarming,” she said. “They don’t really have a lot, so it’s very much appreciated. ... Random people in the community and local businesses really have pulled together and have been so good to them.”
A fraternity at Bucknell University, where Amanda’s father worked for several years, is also helping, she said.
When Amanda was admitted, family said they were staying at area hotels because the Ronald McDonald House was full, but Ann Blugis, development manager at the house, said on Tuesday that two rooms opened up and the family was notified.
In a situation where no room is available for family members, Blugis said that the center will often give gift certificates to stay at the nearby Pine Barn Inn or refer families to other hotels in the area for a discounted rate.
-- E-mail comments to gmorton@dailyitem.com

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