Amy Hopkins needs our help after open heart surgery!

[Clint Searcy]

Thanks guys, Well. Alicia and I are almost done with rebuilding the house. We still have a few thinks left on the punch list like finishing out the closets and some lighting and trim work here and there. Because of all the work and money that went into the rebuild we were able to refinance the house a few months ago at a much better rate. After the flood the damaged house and property were valued at $60,000. The new appraisal after all that work was $106,000. So that's one more thing I need to thank Amy and all of you for! I still don't really have the shop up and running. I have done a few rewinds and repair jobs here and there but not in full swing by any means.

When I heard Amy we headed for a heart vale transplant I knew it was a big freaking deal. She was able to work some deals and get a discount but even with her end of things is going to be about $35,000. That's a hell of a deal but Amy is a person of meager means and any effort we can make to help her offset this expense would go a long way. She feels grateful to have a new lease on life. She feels that she has been so blessed at this point that she couldn't possible ask for more help. Because of all of you and Amy, Alicia and I know exactly what that feels like. The feeling that people have been so giving and so kind that you couldn't possibly ask for more. That's why Alicia and I decided to do the asking for her. Alicia set up the Indiegogo account after reading about the bus driver that raised $700,000 for a vacations after being taunted by kids on the bus. The Indiegogo sire does take a 9% cut from what is raised but I see that as an operating cost. The idea being that if your story is compelling enough perfect strangers looking to give to a good cause will help out those in need. Well, there is little doubt that Amy's story is compelling. The question is do I have the ability to tell it properly? The lady has lived her life in the service of others. As Mike said she is the most giving person I have met (and I know some giving people) and has asked for so little ...no.... has asked for nothing in return. Some have said that she has built up enough good Karma to last 10 life times. That may very well be try but I believe that Karma is what you make it. If people have to be willing to be that good Karma for Amy now.

For those who would like to donate directly to the PayPal account and avoid the 9% Indigogo cut the address is searcysw@gmail.com . Every cent deposited in that account is being given to Amy.

Current PayPal balance: $1,430.55 USD

I'll update this here every week.



For Alicia, Myself and Amy.. THANKS YOU ALL!

[Deb Suran]

I have sent a $1,500 check directly to Amy because Indiegogo takes too big a bite. I encourage everyone whose life Amy has touched to donate something - even $5.00 if that's all you can afford. Use Clint's PayPal link.

[Clint Searcy]

Wow... I wish I could edit my post now... <s> Oh well... I guess that gibberish just proves it's actually me posting.

After I posted that I noticed that the MIMF bass was being sold for Amy. Thank you again guys! And Deb thank you again for helping out with the money again. You might be the second most giving person I know. <g>

I spent a little time this today pimping the MIMF bass auction and a friend of mine mentioned that some bidders might be put off by the seller having a feedback of only "2". I can see that. if it does not sell we might want to look at that.

[Charlie Schultz]

Thanks Clint and Deb.

I had mentioned an auction in the last MIMF newsletter- I'm willing to put all the auction proceeds to Amy as well, so if any of you reading this have something that you're willing to donate, please PM me.

As for the e-bay rating, well, you've got to start somewhere, right? 2 is better than 0 and we thought it was cleaner (from a tax angle) if I did the selling and there is the e-bay "buyer protection plan". And hopefully I'll have an MIMF archtop to sell in the not-too-distant future, so it will help that.

[Charlie Schultz]

Please see Mario's generous offer over in the Classified section! http://www.mimf.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php ... 089#p10306

[Bob Hammond]

My best wishes to Amy. We've never met or corresponded, but I have always admired her generosity of spirit and personal effort. I'm glad that it was possible for Amy to go to Johns Hopkins, and if all goes as I hope and think it might, then I think you'll see her up and about soon, and feeling good. The bill seems huge, but it can be pared down.

[amy hopkins]

Hi Everyone, I had no idea this was all going on over here and I can't begin to express my gratitude. This has been one nuts summer, as of May I thought I was a tuff as nails, healthy chickie and within a couple of months I was in a room in Hopkins that seriously looked like an alien abduction chamber with bright lights and strange humanoids in funny clothing!! All because of this funky valve that I carried with me my whole life. (And the scary big bulge on the aorta!!)
Hopkins was wonderful, I was in the new Sheikh Zayed Tower. Due to a lot of really good Hopkins Karma going back about sixty years the operation was very reasonably priced, a whole lot of thanks go to Duke Cameron, head of Cardiac there, He waived his fee, and I am not sure what other magic he worked but I can work with the price instead of feeling like I have lost everything. I've been trying to get the repair work here done and feeling exhausted and yesterday a check arrived from Deb. I just sat down and started to cry, which seems to happen a lot more this month. It really allows me to rest a bit more and follow the Doc's orders, slow down on the work a little and lie down when I feel like it.
I know this sounds nuts but when I am a little old lady, I am going to look back at this as the best summer of my life, the memory of pain fades but the memory of the kindness, generosity and love that has been sent my way from family and friends and folks who have never met me at all is astounding.
And I have a pretty cool scar, in the words of my great nephew Jonah “They sewed you up just like Frankenstein!!”

[Clint Searcy]

It's about time you knew how that feels Amy.


I thought folks might like an update on the Pay Pal and MIMF bass situations. Turns out Charles was right and people were not spooked away by the low Ebay seller score. The bass is up to $1,550.00 so it will sell. There are three more days on the auction. Well all know that bass is easily worth at least twice that much. If you have a FaceBook account please posts the bass auction there and let your friends know it's a deal of a bass and for a good cause.

Amy's PayPal balance is sitting at $1,891.00 USD. That's a combination of direct donations from you here at the mimf (and they have been generous) and the Indiegogo.com project. The donations there are usually small, $10 to $30 but they keep trickling in and every bit helps make an other payment so that Amy can rest as she should.

My wife Alicia made a video for the Indiegogo.com site last night to spur interest a bit more.

http://youtu.be/KdmpTUqt9ww

There is also some effort being made to spread the story farther through some major publications.

So as it stands we have a combined total of $3441. Great job reaching almost 10% of the original goal!!

[Clint Searcy]

New donations means new totals.
$2022.55 In the PayPal account (combination of direct donations and the Indiegogo.com effort)
$1550 On the MIMF bass so far.
$1500 From Deb (forgot that last time)

For a total of
$5072.55

More updates later this week.

[Mario Proulx]

I have commitments for 6 of the ten pickguard sheets I'm offering in the classified section, already, so we can add another $210 to your total, for a current tally of....

$5282.55

[Charlie Schultz]

The thread for Amy's (and other MIMF-ers) work on Clint and Alicia's house is now up here: http://www.mimf.com/nashville/Clint_Sea ... -2010.html

[Thomas Dooher]

Wow..I go away to camp and get caught up in work when I come back, and find out a lot has happened in our MIMF world. I was relieved to see Amy is out and about. Best wishes from my family. I will send something to the Searcy PP account to help.

Tom

[Alain Moisan]

Hi all,

Here are the different forums where the info is past on:

- Here (MIMF)
- The OLF
- Foro Flamenco
- KitGuitarforum
- Frets.net

If anyone has any idea where else we could reach luthiers, amateur or pros, that have been helped in the past by Amy, please let us know.

For my part, I'll keep trying to find new ways to spread the news...

Cheers,

[Clint Searcy]

Thank you very much Alain!!

The MIMF bass sold for $1550 ! Wow, someone got a real deal on that one.

I would like to thank all those who have donated directly to the Pay Pal account this week.

So with our new donations and Marios addition I put our new total at $5721. Not bad, but not where I'd like to stop. Spread the word around where ever you can. I'm trying to post new photos and information to the Indiegogo.com site every few days. You can take a look if you like.

http://www.indiegogo.com/AmyHheart?c=activity&a=833015

[Charlie Schultz]

I hope to get the MIMF auction up in the next couple weeks, so if you have something you'd like to donate please let me know (PM me) soon!

[Clint Searcy]

Thanks to several smaller donations from Indiegogo and a few larger ones direct from MIMF the Pay Pal account is currently at $2,691.30. Let's add it up again.

$2691.30 Total PayPal donations
$1550 Bass
$1500 Deb
$210 Mario

Total $5951.30

This is really going to help Amy relax and recover at her own pace. I know she's having some trouble with her right arm but she did report that she was able to milk the cow the other day. He Dr thinks that's good physical therapy so long as she doesn't get kicked.

[Clint Searcy]

Our total is now past the $6000 mark in this effort. I have seen a number of donation from people I can see are musicians and luthiers. We have had donations from all over the UK. I got a check in the mail yesterday from South Korea for Amy.

It's amazing how much good there is in the world. Sometimes you might not know it if you look around.

I want to thank everyone who worked on the MIMF bass. David King, Kurt Veltman, Stephen Ziegenfuss, Barry Daniels, Larry Davis, Jairo Eduardo Suarez Gallardo, Mark Swanson and Dan Sharp.

I talked to Amy yesterday. She would thank you herself but she has been having a rough time this week dealing with a rather brave if perhaps poorly planed "Cold Turkey" withdrawal from the Oxycodone the Dr. had her on to help her sleep. An almost week long stretch of painful days and sleepless nights has made for a grumpy Amy. She's gonna make it though. She's part bull now.... well.... cow anyway.

Oh, and to the guy who bought that bass. I know who you are. Thank you!

[Alain Moisan]

Thanks for letting us know Clint.

I hope the auction will be succesful.

Keep up the updates!

[amy hopkins]

I'm doing somewhat better, got three whole hours of sleep last night, any teenager could live on that!! Had no idea that Oxycodone was so addictive! You all rock, this is such a big help! I had an echo cardiogram yesterday and all is beating well, the new valve is really different looking than the old and my new plastic aorta shows up very brightly! I am able to be doing a bit of repair work now. I'm fixing up an old thirties National that has been hanging around for years, that will help with the bills also. Today I rehaired two bows and set up a mandolin, it does not seem like a lot but I am moving a bit slower than before. This has sure been an eye opener, dealing with a BIG emergency health problem when I am self employed and un-insured. The surgeon plays guitar, he helped cut down the bills a huge amount. I sure want to thank everyone and don't even know who everyone is.

[Mark Swanson]

Thanks for checking in Amy! I am glad you are on the mend, keep the positive attitude!
I'm so glad that we waited until now to sell the bass! It went for a great cause.