Cathy Dobson
Have you ever met someone who would do anything for anyone, yet needs help herself?
“That’s Jaime Kabat,” says Jen Smith. “She’s such a loving person. I just knew I needed to do something to help her.”
Kabat’s little girl, Sammy, has a serious health issue and was scheduled for surgery in London this week to remove her left lung.
Sammy, an eight-year-old student at Rosedale School, is usually a spunky ball of energy who likes to dress up and has recently done some modelling for a London-based agency.
She was playing soccer in May when she was hit in the chest by the ball. Her lung collapsed and her condition was complicated by whooping cough.
Doctors believed she would fully recover but the lung kept collapsing. Finally, in September a benign tumour was detected.
London specialists consulted with doctors across Canada, says Jaime Kabat, who adopted Sammy as a nine-month-old baby.
“They decided the best course of action is to remove the tumour and the whole lung because of the location of the tumour,” she said. “They call the surgery risky and complex.”
Sammy’s recovery could take two weeks to two months. It’s not a common procedure and is difficult to predict.
Meanwhile, the Kabats, who have two other adopted children and a foster son, are spending every other week at Ronald McDonald House in London to be near their daughter.
“I am a mother and I can’t imagine what they are going through, emotionally and financially,” said Smith. She runs a home-based business called Foxy Leggings in Sarnia and says Sammy and Jaime were among her first customers.
“They can use all the help they can get, but I had to insist they accept it. Jaime didn’t want to,” Smith said.
The plan is to hold a fashion show and silent auction on Nov. 20 at Rustic on Campbell Street.
“I was just shocked she would do so much for our family,” Kabat said of Smith.
Half the proceeds will go to Ronald McDonald House while the other half will go to Sammy and her family.
Sammy’s nickname is Sassy, so Smith is calling her event Sassy for Sammy.
Six local businesses are participating in the fashion show including Foxy Leggings, One Tooth, Lux Butik, So Comfy Designs, Handmade for You Love Lu, and Esby & Soph, a children’s clothing store on Front where Sammy has done some modelling.
Fifty auction items have already been donated by local business, said Smith. Local musician Marty Oblak is providing entertainment.
“Our hope is that Sammy can be in the fashion show, but if she can’t her best friend Eva will be in it,” said Kabat.
Tickets are available at any of the six fashion retailers, or by calling Smith at 905-515-8688 or Brianne Inchley at 519-384-0000. Cost is $10 in advance, $15 at the door.