Lexington, Ky. - It doesn't get much more humbling than what is happening to Vestrese Kimble. The young Lexington single mother of two girls, ages 8 and 12, has already undergone a lung transplant, and the outcome has not been successful. Now both her lungs and her heart are failing, and she has run out of options.
"So the choice has been made for her, if that makes sense, because there really is no way she can get a heart and two lungs," explained Diane Perez, whose husband, Rob, owns Saul Good Foods restaurants, where staff and customers have been stepping up to come to the aid and comfort of a family in real need this holiday season.
Diane Perez is coordinating with Kelly Moore, a former Chase Bank employee who is transitioning into a position with Fifth Third Bank, to help the Kimble household in such a dire time of need. We caught up with Moore in Dayton, where she is in training for her new job.
"Every year around Christmas time, I try to get a group of people together to help support a family," Moore said. "I generally do it with my co-workers and friends, but this year I wasn't able to do that, so one day Rob (Perez) was in the branch (I used to work at Chase Bank) making a deposit, and I asked him if it was something that he would be willing to help with.
He said, 'Yes, absolutely.'"
Moore had contacted Hospice of the Bluegrass and asked if they were aware of a family that had had an especially rough year and could use some help this holiday season.
"They got back to me the next day and let me know that everyone there unanimously said this family could really use some help," she said. "They had just recently been referred to hospice."
The Kimbles' situation, that of a terminally ill, young, single mother preparing to spend her final Christmas with her children, whose future care remains unclear, grabbed
Moore's heart and wouldn't let go.
"They're a humble family, she said. "This isn't a family that came to us and asked for anything. They didn't ask for any help, and I think it was very humbling for them to have to accept it."
Kelly had composed a letter appealing for help for the Kimbles. It soon appeared in the Saul Good locations in Fayette Mall and Hamburg Pavilion.
"We have put this letter out on our tables for the last two weeks," said Rob Perez. The letter encouraged patrons to come in and enjoy food and beverage on Sunday evening with 50 percent of all of the proceeds going to the Kimble family.
Even in Sunday's wintry weather, some 300 patrons indicating they had come to support the Kimbles turned up at each Saul Good location, Perez estimated. Among the first to arrive at the Fayette Mall restaurant was Woodford Webb and his family. "It was extremely nice of Rob Perez and all of the staff at Saul Good to make such a generous gesture for the family. It is a testament to locally owned businesses in this community and what they do to give back as and when needed," he said.
Perez was moved by the turnout. "I'm a California native and I have never seen anything like it," he said, commenting on the level of generosity of the Lexington community. He added that contributions can be dropped off at either of his locations, any time. So far, Perez said he has been amazed by the outpouring of support for the Kimbles that has gone beyond donations of dollars.
"I've had a child psychologist step up and say, 'Pro bono, I want to work with the family as long as they need it.' I've had a lawyer step up and say, 'I will help with all legal matters,'" he said. "Countless people have asked about the sizes of the children so they can provide clothes. We've had people ask if they can clean their house. We've had so many people come forward that it's becoming a part-time job just keeping up with it."
That part-time job has fallen to Diane Perez, who took stock of the situation in the Kimble household and realized the need for sensitivity.
"If she wasn't terminally ill, it would be great to go over there and clean her house and do all kinds of things for her - to take her here and there. But because it's so sensitive, I'm trying to manage it," Diane Perez said.
Under normal circumstances, the needs of a young single mother raising girls on her own are many. In the case of the Kimble household, they're heart-wrenching. Kimble's main source of support through her illness had been her own mother, who passed away last year.
"The girls go to school in the morning, and Vestrese has to get out in the morning in the cold and drive them to school. She has to get out her full oxygen tank and get out in the cold - and it's very difficult for her to breathe and get out, period, much less drive twice a day to get the girls to and from school. That's a big need," said Moore.
The need not only for material support but a lift in spirits, as well, was not lost on the staff at Saul Good Foods.
"Our staff is going to try to make the best Christmas for the girls as possible," Rob Perez said. "They're in charge of getting all the gifts together. And then we'll have a big wrapping party, and on the 22nd, we'll deliver the gifts and have a big ol' Christmas dinner at their house, and all of our staff is invited."
Kelly Moore, in the meantime, is stopping by the Kimble home with meals and just to offer company and care.
"This is a very deserving family. It's been very humbling for them, but Vestrese is considered terminal," Moore said. "At that point in your life, it's hard to accept help from people. But she used to work as a CNA. She spent a lot of years taking care of other people, and it's been very difficult for her to be the one that's being taken care of now. She really needs the help, especially as she's unaware of what's going to happen to her girls after she passes away."