[title subtitle=”words: Laura Keep
images: courtesy Jaymie Alvarez and Play for Luke/Hope for Minds”][/title]
Two World-Ranked Singles Players to Headline Fort Smith Tennis Fundraiser Fourth Annual “Play for Luke” Event to Benefit Children with Brain Injuries
Spencer Aydelott was eight years old when his life changed forever. He and his family were on vacation in North Carolina. They were tubing down a river when he was caught in a swirling current and trapped under a log. He was underwater for more than twenty minutes. Spencer miraculously survived the drowning but was left with an anoxic brain injury.
“At first he couldn’t walk, talk or eat,” says his mom, Jaymie Aguilar. Spencer spent months in the hospital and rehab. As he was about to be discharged home, Jaymie received a packet of information from the Team Luke Hope for Minds organization. “I thought wow, this is awesome.”
The non-profit organization stepped in to help with expenses for Spencer’s occupational therapy services at home, they helped him find a speech therapist and provided many tools including a music therapy system called “The Listening Program” designed to help strengthen neurological pathways. In addition to providing funds, they provided emotional support for Spencer and his family as they navigated their new world.
“The organization helps me never give up hope,” says Jaymie. “Wherever Spencer is in his recovery, they help me believe in the future.”
Spencer has made great strides since his accident nine years ago. Today he’s even walking the field as the manager for the freshman football team. He still deals with a lot of cognitive delays including short-term memory loss, slow speech and processing but he wants to learn.
“The tools the organization provided, the emotional support, it’s just priceless in getting us to where we are today,” said Jaymie.
Team Luke Hope for Minds is the beneficiary of the “Play for Team Luke” Tennis event set for September 7th at Fort Smith Athletic Club, 5400 Gary Street, Fort Smith, Ark. The event began in 2016 as a fundraiser forthe family of Luke Siegel, a then nine-year-old boy who suffered a traumatic brain injury following a golf cart accident. Luke’s father, Tim Siegel, is a longtime friend of Hardscrabble Country Club Tennis Director Bobby Banck. Shortly after the accident, Banck began sharing social media updates on Luke’s progress. He and several Fort Smith area friends began looking for ways to support the Siegels and “Play for Team Luke” was born.
This year’s special guests are two world-ranked singles players, John Isner and Danielle Collins. Isner is number fifteen in the world rankings. He currently holds the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) official record for the fastest serve ever recorded at 157.2 mph in the 2016 Davis Cup. Collins is currently ranked number thirty-six in the world in singles after making it to the semifinals of the 2019 Australian Open. She won two NCAA singles titles as a tennis player at the University of Virginia.
Learn more about the event and purchase tickets at playforteamluke.com.