Ledger-Dispatch

By Bethany A. Monk (bmonk@ledger-dispatch.com) =

Ashley Guillemin is holding a = fund-raiser for her=20 brother, Zack, who was injured in a chain saw accident. She wants = to raise=20 money to cover his medical costs.

Photo by: Bethany A.=20 Monk
Zack Guillemin, 7, of Rail Road Flat = was out=20 cutting wood with his dad on New Year's Eve when he tripped and fell = face-first=20 into a chain saw.

"It was getting dark," said Zack's sister = Ashley, who=20 turns 19 tomorrow. Their father kept telling him to get out of the way = and move=20 back from the chain saw. Zack had his hands full and was watching his = dad saw=20 some wood, when he took some steps forward, tripped and plunged forward = into the=20 blades. Luckily their dad has quick reflexes, Ashley said, describing = how he=20 quickly moved the chain saw away from his son.

The father and = son then=20 rushed to Sutter Amador Hospital in Jackson, where they were told his = injuries=20 were so severe that they could not be treated there.

"My dad = drove him to=20 UC Davis," said Ashley, who lives in Jackson. She added that her little = brother=20 "held his face (together) from 5 p.m. to midnight," which is when he = finally=20 received the three layers of 60 stitches. He will need plastic surgery=20 operations to reduce scar tissue, Ashley said, adding that the family = has no=20 medical insurance.

The idea for a benefit event "sort of popped = into my=20 head" the next day, she said.

Ashley's fund-raiser, officially = the=20 "Benefit for Zack Guillemin," will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31 at = 4419=20 Parrotts Ferry Road in Vallecito. There will be live music, food, soft = drinks=20 and a raffle, featuring items donated by various local businesses. = Musicians=20 Alma Melodiosa, Clan Dyken, No Need and Outlaw Dance Society will = perform.=20 Admission is by donation.

To get jump-started on planning and = then=20 spreading the news about the benefit for Zack, Ashley called a friend of = hers,=20 who is a corporate fund-raiser, for pointers. The friend also ended up = donating=20 $400 to help cover the cost of the 60 stitches Zack received.

She = is=20 proud of her little brother for being so brave. She said he didn't cry = once the=20 day it happened.

He was more concerned about everyone else, = Ashley said.=20 "He kept saying, 'Sorry for not listening to you, Daddy,' and telling = Mom not to=20 be mad at Dad." He also wanted to make sure his sisters weren't worried = about=20 him. In addition to Ashley, Zack has two other older sisters: Samantha, = who will=20 turn 14 Feb. 1, and Heather, 24.

He's a lot like their dad, = Ashley said,=20 meaning that her little brother has a strong spirit. "He didn't even = want to=20 take pain medication (at first) and would said, 'It doesn't really = hurt."=20

The community in general has been extremely supportive and = "really cool.=20 Really amazing," she said.

"The community has really gotten = together,"=20 she reiterated. "All the little stores that are going out of business = have been=20 so generous. I've been calling people nonstop."

Ashley began her = quest in=20 Murphys and is now working on asking Amador businesses and residents for = help.=20 She has given out a total of 600 fliers in both counties. Some of them = hang on=20 bulletin boards, but most of them, she said, are ones that she has given = to=20 people on the street.

Her family, she said, is making the most = of it.=20 Each day, she makes a point of keeping a positive attitude.

"The = day it=20 happened, my sister (called) and told me what happened and we were = crying," she=20 said.

Shortly thereafter, Ashley was driving and said that = listening to=20 Joni Mitchell helped calm her. She was upset, she said, but repeatedly = was=20 "thanking God that he was OK," she said.

Ashley is a student at = Folsom=20 Lake College and works in Sutter Creek. She said she wants to continue = helping=20 families in need by organizing similar benefits.

Zack is a = first-grader=20 at Rail Road Flat Elementary in Rail Road Flat.

For more = information=20 about the "Benefit for Zack Guillemin," call Ashley at 304-2181.

Bethany A. = Monk