Sharon French, of South Portland, is defying the odds following a brain aneurysm five weeks ago. Although her health is improving, the medical bills are piling up, which is why friends have pitched in to plan various fundraisers to help the family out.

One of those fundraisers was held on Monday at the Easy Day restaurant on Broadway. Friends have also set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the French family, and a dinner dance is being planned for Saturday, June 20, at the local VFW hall.

French and her husband, John, are self-employed. The couple own and operate an in-home daycare and Sharon French, nicknamed South Portland’s Cake Lady, is also well known around town for her fabulous cakes. With Sharon in the hospital, the couple has not only had to deal with unexpected medical bills, but has also seen their income reduced by half.

Accepting the help of others has been difficult for the couple, with John French saying this week, “we are givers, not takers.” However family friends Donna Van Horn and Brittany Heller said they’re only trying to give back to a couple that’s been a mainstay in the community for more than 40 years.

“Sharon and her whole family are very special people,” Van Horn said. “They are very humble (and) never want to ask for help.”

She said the Frenches have opened their home to exchange students and those that just need a helping hand and regularly make contributions to various charities, including the annual Relay for Life, which raises money for the American Cancer Society.

Van Horn also said the Frenches treat everybody they meet like family with Sharon calling everyone “dear.” She first met the Frenches about eight years ago.

She said this week that, “Sharon’s spirit is remarkable,” and that French is “an inspiration of true faith (and) love” with a “very positive determination to prove the doctors wrong and get back home.”

John French laughed when he said that his wife is “blowing all the doctors’ guesstimations (about her pace of recovery) out of the water. She’s determined to get better and to get home. She’s already walking with a cane.”

He said doctors initially told him that his wife had a very slim chance of even living through the surgery to fix the burst artery in her brain, but now she’s expected to return home early next week, which is a remarkable achievement.

John French said his wife’s amazing recovery is due in part to the prayers they’ve received since friends and community members learned of her medical condition, as well as to her indomitable will.

Sharon French has lost the peripheral vision in her left eye, slurs some of her words and has lost some memory, but her husband said that despite the bleeding in her brain, she has retained 95 percent of her mental abilities.

In addition to the prayers, messages of goodwill and the various fundraisers going on, John French said the community has also come together to provide regular meals for him and to see to it that a handicap ramp was installed before Sharon got home.

He said that staff at Skillin Elementary School, where Sharon has worked for 20 years, have banded together to ensure he receives regular meals, and other family friends have pitched in to keep the daycare going while John is at the hospital or rehabilitation center with his wife.

“The support and help we’ve received has been just overwhelming,” John French said. “We’re just so thankful and can’t express how much it means.”

But family friend Brittany Heller said the outpouring of support is only what the Frenches deserve.

“They are always unconditionally giving of themselves and helping others,” she said. “They are always on the giving end, not the receiving, and are overwhelmed with the outpouring of love for them. They are well known in the community and loved by everyone.”

Heller said her parents became friends with the Frenches more than 30 years ago. Sharon French made their wedding cake, as well as their 25th anniversary cake, and the Frenches also attended the same church as the Heller family.

“We have spent many Fourth of July, Labor Day, New Year’s Eve and other times together,” Heller said. “They’re pretty much like family, and their daughter Julie and I have been best friends for as long as I can remember.”

That’s one reason Heller decided to start the GoFundMe page. “(The Frenches) are always giving to others so we thought this would be a great opportunity for people to give back to them,” she said.

Heller added, “The doctors and surgeons gave little hope for Sharon’s survival, but through the power of prayer and her determination, she has proved them wrong. Her spirits and determination remain high, but she has a long road ahead.”

Friends and family are rallying around Sharon French of South Portland, who suffered a brain aneurysm five weeks ago.Courtesy photo

Sharon French, of South Portland, is defying the odds following a brain aneurysm five weeks ago. Although her health is improving, the medical bills are piling up, which is why friends have pitched in to plan various fundraisers to help the family out.

One of those fundraisers was held on Monday at the Easy Day restaurant on Broadway. Friends have also set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for the French family, and a dinner dance is being planned for Saturday, June 20, at the local VFW hall.

French and her husband, John, are self-employed. The couple own and operate an in-home daycare and Sharon French, nicknamed South Portland’s Cake Lady, is also well known around town for her fabulous cakes. With Sharon in the hospital, the couple has not only had to deal with unexpected medical bills, but has also seen their income reduced by half.

Accepting the help of others has been difficult for the couple, with John French saying this week, “we are givers, not takers.” However family friends Donna Van Horn and Brittany Heller said they’re only trying to give back to a couple that’s been a mainstay in the community for more than 40 years.

“Sharon and her whole family are very special people,” Van Horn said. “They are very humble (and) never want to ask for help.”

She said the Frenches have opened their home to exchange students and those that just need a helping hand and regularly make contributions to various charities, including the annual Relay for Life, which raises money for the American Cancer Society.

Van Horn also said the Frenches treat everybody they meet like family with Sharon calling everyone “dear.” She first met the Frenches about eight years ago.

She said this week that, “Sharon’s spirit is remarkable,” and that French is “an inspiration of true faith (and) love” with a “very positive determination to prove the doctors wrong and get back home.”

John French laughed when he said that his wife is “blowing all the doctors’ guesstimations (about her pace of recovery) out of the water. She’s determined to get better and to get home. She’s already walking with a cane.”

He said doctors initially told him that his wife had a very slim chance of even living through the surgery to fix the burst artery in her brain, but now she’s expected to return home early next week, which is a remarkable achievement.

John French said his wife’s amazing recovery is due in part to the prayers they’ve received since friends and community members learned of her medical condition, as well as to her indomitable will.

Sharon French has lost the peripheral vision in her left eye, slurs some of her words and has lost some memory, but her husband said that despite the bleeding in her brain, she has retained 95 percent of her mental abilities.

In addition to the prayers, messages of goodwill and the various fundraisers going on, John French said the community has also come together to provide regular meals for him and to see to it that a handicap ramp was installed before Sharon got home.

He said that staff at Skillin Elementary School, where Sharon has worked for 20 years, have banded together to ensure he receives regular meals, and other family friends have pitched in to keep the daycare going while John is at the hospital or rehabilitation center with his wife.

“The support and help we’ve received has been just overwhelming,” John French said. “We’re just so thankful and can’t express how much it means.”

But family friend Brittany Heller said the outpouring of support is only what the Frenches deserve.

“They are always unconditionally giving of themselves and helping others,” she said. “They are always on the giving end, not the receiving, and are overwhelmed with the outpouring of love for them. They are well known in the community and loved by everyone.”

Heller said her parents became friends with the Frenches more than 30 years ago. Sharon French made their wedding cake, as well as their 25th anniversary cake, and the Frenches also attended the same church as the Heller family.

“We have spent many Fourth of July, Labor Day, New Year’s Eve and other times together,” Heller said. “They’re pretty much like family, and their daughter Julie and I have been best friends for as long as I can remember.”

That’s one reason Heller decided to start the GoFundMe page. “(The Frenches) are always giving to others so we thought this would be a great opportunity for people to give back to them,” she said.

Heller added, “The doctors and surgeons gave little hope for Sharon’s survival, but through the power of prayer and her determination, she has proved them wrong. Her spirits and determination remain high, but she has a long road ahead.”

Friends and family are rallying around Sharon French of South Portland, who suffered a brain aneurysm five weeks ago.Courtesy photo