The local community continues to rally around Brent Montgomery and his family as the Henderson man battles COVID-19 at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. Montgomery’s wife, Heather, talked with guest host Brandon Boyd on Wednesday’s Town Talk and provided an update on his condition, as well as plans for a lunchtime fundraiser that will take place Thursday, Mar. 11.
The grills will be lit by 4 a.m. Thursday, Boyd said, and take-out plates of barbecued chicken will be ready for pickup beginning at 11 a.m. at the former Boyd dealership located at the corner of Ruin Creek Road and US Hwy. 158.
“The chicken is the last thing that this is about,” Boyd said, adding that there’s a “sense of hope and optimism in the air” for Brent’s condition to improve.
Heather Montgomery said his condition remains the same – “the support from the machines is what’s keeping him alive at this point,” she said. The next option, she added, would be a lung transplant, because his lungs “are overcome with COVID scarring.”
Riding a roller coaster of emotions since his hospitalization almost a month ago has been difficult, yet Montgomery said she continues to pray for a miracle. She said that the continuous messages of encouragement that pour in from all over have provided support, comfort and strength to her and her family. “We are not giving up on him,” she added. “We’re praying for a miracle – that’s what it’s going to take.”
The Thursday event came together in just a few days, Boyd said. Volunteers are welcome to come out and help, he added. Plates are $10 cash only, and donations will be accepted as well. Orders of 10 or more plates are available for delivery; call Sandy Reese at 252.213.0058 to place an order.
“This is a day to celebrate Brent Montgomery,” Boyd said. His patrol car will be parked on the lot, and the entire community is invited to come out and show support to the Montgomery family.
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Heather Montgomery called the community outpouring of support “unbelievable” and she often feels overwhelmed to realize all the ways that her family feels that support and love. She is grateful to the NC Highway Patrol as well, saying that the supervising colonel calls or texts her daily for updates. Fellow troopers have provided support and are always ready to help lend a hand when needed. Several troopers stood in for their colleague at Senior Night activities for their son, Heather Montgomery said.
In one of the last texts he sent, Brent told his wife not to give up on him. Now, “when he can’t speak, I’m trying to speak for him,” she said. She has had to develop a deeper level of trust with God, she said, because she knows that her husband’s condition is beyond her control.
Calling him a humble man, Montgomery said she was going to have a hard time explaining to her husband all the good things that she has witnessed and experienced during his illness. “I just can’t wait to tell (him) about all these things,” she mused. “It’s going to take a long time (for him) to absorb all this that’s going on.”
Fundraiser traffic flow: Vehicles will enter the property of the former Boyd dealership from the far east side and circle around the back of the building, then pick up plates by the showroom on the west side of the property.