The community is rallying together for a local food truck vendor who recently found out he has a brain tumor.
Keenen Hendricks is the owner of Smack's Chicken Shack. He says he was embarrassed to ask for help but after he's given back to the community, people urged him to ask.
Smack's Chicken Shack specialty is really large panko fried chicken sandwiches.
"We have your traditional Nashville lemon pepper, but then we do crazy ones, like a peanut butter and jelly one. We have one called the Big Peach, which has cream cheese, candied jalapenos, peach jam, and then drizzled with honey, " said Keenen Hendricks, Owner, Smack's Chicken Shack.
They also do loaded fries.
"So it would be like fried, chopped with chicken, and then all the trimmings. You can make any chicken sandwich and turn it into loaded fries," said Hendricks.
The business started in 2018 and has had it's ups and downs, but things recently took a turn for the worse. Ear problems led doctors to perform an MRI, where a brain tumor was found.
“Getting the news of having a tumor (was) depressing. I was pretty upset about it. I mean, I have two kids," said Hendricks.
The devastating news left him in shock.
“I’m one of those people that closes off, so you know when I found out I kind of stayed home for awhile, trying to process everything.," said Hendricks.
Processing it all led to thoughts of medical bills. Hendricks says so far no one has been able to accept his insurance in San Antonio, and his deductible is high.
"I'll have to have it removed and then I'll have to do radiation to kill cancer cells. If it's not cancerous, it's already really large, so I have to do radiation to shrink it and then surgery to remove it," said Hendricks.
Hendrick's says he's given back to the community by feeding the homeless, donated to nonprofits and hosted events like back to school drives. Friends and customers urged him to start a GoFundMe to help with medical bills and travel expenses.
Hendricks says he was embarrassed to ask the community for help, but the community has responded.
“I cry a lot when I see it," said Hendricks.
So far, the GoFundMe has raised nearly $12,000 with a goal of $20,000. Hendricks says he's already spent about $5,000 and says the medical cost will end up exceeding his goal, but is thankful and overwhelmed by the support.
"I'm like, man, people do, you know, care. They do love me. They do support me. I just want to tell everybody, thank you and how much it really does mean to me and my family. You know any help counts, even just sharing the GoFundMe. I just really, really, really appreciate it. I love you all," said Hendricks.
If you would like to help Hendricks on his medical journey, you can find the GoFundMe, by clicking here.