Limestone County Sheriff’s Deputy Justin Smith is making decisions no one ever wants to think about making — whether to stay with his wife at Vanderbilt University Medical Center while she undergoes cancer treatments or work so he can pay the bills that won’t stop coming.

To help raise money for the Smith family, the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office is hosting a barbecue fundraiser Friday, June 16, at the Rodeo Arena on Alabama 99.

Proceeds will help raise money for Justin’s wife, 29-year-old Breanna Smith, to stay in Nashville after her stem-cell transplant.

For $12, fundraiser attendees can buy a lunch or dinner plate, which includes chicken, baked beans, slaw, roll, drink and a dessert. Lunch plates will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and dinner plates will be served from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The 90-day outpatient stay for Breanna is going to cost the Smiths $8,650 up front, Justin said, explaining his insurance will cover the 14-day chemotherapy treatment required before the transplant but it will not cover the outpatient stay.

“My insurance has been wonderful throughout this experience, but for whatever reason they’re seeing this outpatient as lodging — like a hotel,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be a big hit. I’ve taken it as far as the state board in Montgomery but it still gets turned down.”

Limestone County Assistant Jail Administrator Tammy Waddell said the Sheriff’s Office did a fundraiser for the Smiths last year with Greenbriar restaurant, but decided to do the cooking this year.

“We have a correctional officer on staff, Bill Davis, who used to run Hickory Farms BBQ,” she said. “We’re gathering desserts and anything we can put toward the fundraiser. (The Smiths) are an awesome family and a wonderful people.”

Barbecue tickets must be bought in advance, either by calling the Limestone Sheriff’s Office at 256-232-0111 or the Limestone County Commission at 256-233-6400.

The Sheriff’s Office is buying the chicken for the meal out of pocket, so tickets must be purchased by June 13 so they know how many to get, Waddell said.

Breanna’s story

Breanna is fighting acute myeloid leukemia for the second time in just over a year. She was diagnosed in July last year. Because doctors caught the disease early, she was able to receive chemotherapy in Huntsville Hospital for a month and finish treatments at home, Justin said.

She finished the treatments and was considered in remission in February this year.

“Breanna was free to return to a normal life and wasn’t supposed to go back to the doctor until June,” Justin said. “Then, in the beginning of April, she started feeling tired. That’s one reason why it’s so hard to catch myeloid leukemia in the early stages, because the only symptoms it shows are flu-like symptoms.”

Soon after, Breanna developed a cough and runny nose.

Justin said he told her to call the cancer center and have blood work done, just in case.

“The blood work came back declined, meaning her white blood cell count was below normal,” he said, adding the doctor then ordered a cancer scan. “On April 20, the doctor called and said the cancer had returned at 8 percent.”

For the Smiths, 8 percent was a positive in a negative situation.

“You’re considered to be in remission when the cancer cells are 5 percent and below, so we were able to catch this right out of remission,” Justin said. “Normally, the average myeloid leukemia is found at 60 percent and higher in the body. That’s where the mortality rate comes from, because it’s a silent cancer.”

Even though the cancer was growing, Breanna’s doctor did not deem it life threatening and recommended another month’s stay at Huntsville Hospital. Because the chemotherapy Breanna needed was so strong, she had to have an echocardiogram to make sure she was healthy enough to receive treatment, Justin said.

The Smiths are now on day 22 in Huntsville.

Though Breanna has had some complications, the chemotherapy treatments are doing what they were designed to do — bottom out her white blood-cell count.

Justin said Breanna is expected to come home in a week. Then they will pack up and leave for Vanderbilt. Once they arrive in Nashville, Breanna will have a stem-cell transplant.

“The doctor told us without it, he gives us a 100-percent chance of relapse,” Justin said, explaining the transplant is designed to give Breanna bone marrow from a healthy person. “We will be in Nashville for at least 100 days to make sure no complications arise.”

Justin is taking time off through the federal Family Medical Leave Act, which gives him 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Also, some of his coworkers plan to donate sick days to him.

“The love and compassion that comes from my coworkers is magnificent,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of people and better sheriff to work for.”

Donations to a GoFundMe account can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/3pkpjsg or by going through the Facebook page Breanna’s Prayer Warriors.

Justin and Breanna have a 5-year-old son named Landon.