Community comes together to heal a broken heart once more

Over two decades ago, Libby came together to help pay for a young girl’s heart surgery. Now, the community is coming together for a second time to raise money for that same girl.

Amanda Barnes, now 29, a wife of eight years and mother of two, will undergo her third heart surgery in less than a month, due to the congenital heart disease she’s had since she was born.

Barnes had two surgeries when she was a child. Her first surgery took place when she was two, during which a balloon was inserted in one of her valves. Her second surgery, when she was five, drew a great deal of attention from near and far.

After the first surgery drained her parents’ finances, they were ready to sell everything they owned to afford the procedure. That’s when the local schools and businesses came together to help raise money through donations and fundraisers.

“I don’t even know how to say thank you for that,” Barnes said. “I owe a lot to this town and I love it here.”

The biggest fundraiser community members organized at that time was “Hour Amanda,” in which employees from Libby businesses donated an hour’s wage to pay for Barnes’s medical expenses.

The news of her surgery fund spread quickly through the town, and soon caught outsiders’ interests, from regional reporters from Kalispell, Missoula and Spokane to then-Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, who made a trip to referee a fundraising basketball game for Barnes.

After all the attention and donations, the town ended up raising enough money to pay for her entire surgery.

Barnes said she doesn’t remember much from that surgery, but she remembers being in the hospital and being scared.

That same fear resurfaced when, at her regular two-year checkup, she was told she needed surgery on the same heart valve they repaired when she was five.

“It’s always scary because you don’t really know what’s going to happen,” Barnes said.

The next day, Barnes went to her job at the Northwest Community Health Center, where she’s worked for four years or so. She was visibly overwhelmed and upset, and that’s when all of her coworkers rallied to help her.

Barnes’s friends and co-workers, Lacey Uithof, Kara Matthews and Joe Chopyak, sent out a mass message to every staff member at the CHC, calling anyone who wanted to help with a benefit. Uithof said she was amazed by the turnout.

The team then worked together to set up a donation jar at the CHC, where all of the employees are encouraged to donate an hour’s worth of wages, to recreate the same donation method from when Barnes was young.

“Literally everyone who works there has been really supportive and helpful,” Barnes said. “They just really just want to be there for me, and it’s awesome. I couldn’t do this without them.”

Kara Matthews, CHC outreach coordinator, said that while she works with Barnes and their kids go to school together, the entire clinic is close-knit.

“I feel that everyone that works at the CHC is pretty close,” Matthews said. “We’re kind of like a little family.”

According to Uithof, Barnes is a kind and thoughtful person and is more used to giving than receiving.

“She would give you the shirt off her back, and she’s having a hard time accepting help,” Uithof said. “She’s not used to this; she’s used to being the one helping others.”

Barnes’s husband, Brian Barnes, said that anyone who meets Barnes can see how kind and compassionate she is, adding that he didn’t need to describe her because “people know how great she is.”

Brian, who works at Noble Excavating, said that his coworkers and bosses have also been a great support system, adding that he works at the best job he could ask for because of them.

While trips to the hospital are frightening and necessary, Brian said the medical expenses have been especially difficult. Brian currently works 60-70 hours a week to pay off the expenses, and said that even though he and his wife work very hard and have health insurance, the debt is still there. While the surgery will be a big cost, they’ve also accumulated debt from past expenses. Brian said that every time Barnes gets sick, or has chest pains, they go to the hospital. Now, Brian said, they’re drowning in medical debt.

“We’re taking one step at a time,” Brian said. “It’s a shame that medical debt takes control of someone’s life like that, but it does.”

Chopyak, who’s known Barnes for over 20 years, said that it’s difficult for her to ask for help, because of how giving she is as a person. He speculated that the overall medical cost ranges upwards of $60,000 to $70,000, and said he wouldn’t be surprised if it were double that with recovery costs.

“She’s kind and she’s gentle and she’s giving, and she’s amazing to watch with our patients,” Chopyak said. “She’s absolutely always willing to go an extra mile. That’s why this is so hard for her, because she would rather be doing this for someone else than have people be doing this for her.”

Beyond their jobs, the two said they have received heart-warming support from the community. Barnes and Uithof, both a few years older than Barnes, remember donating change as students in school 24 years ago.

“It’s crazy how lucky we are,” Brian said. “Libby is a great place to grow up and raise a family. You can say thank you over and over again for the support, but we’ll never be able to show how appreciative we are.”

Despite not advertising much as of yet, the Go Fund Me donation webpage, gofundme.com/houramanda, has raised over $2,000 within the first 10 days. Uithof said people who don’t want to make an online donation have also made donations at the CHC. There will also be fundraisers coming up at different locations. At 6 p.m., Nov. 19 the VFW will host a fundraiser with a meal, silent auction and live auction. Tickets can be purchased at the CHC. There will also be a “Brews for Benefit” at Cabinet Mountain Brewery in December, where one dollar per beer will be donated toward the cause.

“I always tell her, ‘Whatever goes around comes around,’” Chopyak said. “if you treat people nicely the way she’s treated them, they’ll help you when you need it.”

Bethany Rolfson can be reached at 293-4124 or by email at reporter@thewesternnews.com.