Family raises money for 4 year-old's brain surgery

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. - Chris Simmons is like most young kids his age. The lively four year-old can often be found playing video games with his two older brothers ... until recently occurring headaches have gotten in the way of playtime.

"He was having headaches," said Crissy Smead, Chris's mother. "Why would a little boy at the age of 3 1/2 years old say that his head is hurting."

Chris's parents John and Crissy took Chris to the neurologist for an MRI. The neurologist then diagnosed Chris with a rare brain condition called Chiari Malformation.
    
"It's putting pressure on his brain stem and his spinal cord," Smead said.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for the condition.

"Chiari has taken lives in the past," Smead said. "It's serious, and our little boy has it."

However there are treatments for the condition. Many of those treatments are brain surgeries that can be more expensive than Chris's family can afford. In an effort to fight the condition, the Smead family is having a yard sale to raise money for the upcoming treatment surgery in October.

"The thing is that we need way more stuff, I want it to be a massive yard sale," Smead said.

Chef John Ernst of Eugene didn't know the Simmons family until two weeks ago, when he heard about Chris's condition on-line. At that point, Ernst decided to start baking pies to sell at the yard sale this weekend.

"I got into an accident, got hit by a car, and got a lot of damage to my body. I began suffering a while ago," Ernst said. "Now I see other people suffering and I just have to help out. I've got to do something."

The yard sale will be at their home September 8th - 9th at 165 S 44th Street in Springfield. They said they will be starting at 10 a.m. each day.

People wanting to help the sale for Chris can give donations and baked goods to the Simmons' at their home. For more information on the sale, you can contact Crissy Smead at 541-606-2846.