Junious Smith III (JS3) Recovering From Surgery

Hello, we are Junious & Shirley Smith Jr, parents of Junious Smith III. On Saturday, May 13, 2023, Junious III began displaying symptoms of fatigue, loss of equilibrium, cognitive and vision focus, frequent hiccups, and headaches and couldn’t move his eyes from left to right without turning his head.

On Sunday, May 14, his father rushed him to two local hospitals on three separate occasions within 48 hours for testing and treatment—CT Scan revealed swelling of his brain; turned out to be a brain tumor and he was immediately transported to Duke University Medical Center.

On Tuesday, May 24, surgery was performed and 70% of the mass was successfully removed.

Junious III's father and I humbly solicit your assistance in raising funds to help cover his mounting medical bills, purchase basic and necessary supplies, and cost of personal and individualized Home Health Care and continued Physical Therapy upon his release from the hospital.

As of Tuesday, June 20, 2023, Junious III was still in the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit at Duke University Medical Center where he had been since May 15. He is not expected to be able to return to work for the foreseeable future and will need funds to help meet his immediate and personal needs, as well as to help meet his prior financial obligations. Upon his release from the hospital, JS3 will reside with us, his parents, in Fayetteville, NC.

Thank God, just as we were about to click Complete Fundraiser set up, Wednesday morning, June 21, 2023, JS3 was finally placed in a step-down room. No more NICU for our beloved son. HALLELUJAH!!!

Mr. Junious Smith III is 34 years old and is a graduate of Massey Hill Classical School and Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was blessed to attend Fayetteville State University with a Full Academic Scholarship through the Honors Program and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication degree in 2011.

Junious III is an award-winning journalist, having won the Excellence in Journalism Award presented by the North Carolina Press Association (NCPA) for special sections in 2016. He and one other earned the award for their special section commemorating the 2016 NBA Draft in which they covered Kinston's Brandon Ingram being selected second overall by the Los Angeles Lakers.

He was a valuable part of the Kinston Free Press newsroom that earned the NCPA's top newspaper for its division in 2014. He was a hard-working journalist whose peers deemed it a great honor to have worked alongside him. They expressed their eager anticipation of his return to work. Junious III's superiors along with his peers see his potential of becoming the best prep sports journalist in all of North Carolina.

 

Before joining the Kinston Free Press newsroom in 2013, JS3 was a sports writer for the Fayetteville Observer for the two prior years.

 

Since 2016, JS3 has also worked as a valuable member of the John Wall Holiday Invitational. He began there as a staff writer for the game program then became the girls’ media director in 2018. Before his unforeseen health challenges, JS3 was set and EXCITED to take over as Media Director of the John Wall Foundation in 2023.

Junious III single-handedly launched the website ENCMoments.com, a prep sports site that covers Lenoir, Greene, Jones, and Pitt counties, a very popular site visited daily by coaches and athletes alike.

Mr. Junious Smith III has been a valuable contributor on the award-winning “The Bryan Hanks Show” since its launch in 2019. He was the staple Wednesday guest on the program until his illness.

As JS3's parents, we are pulling out ALL stops to ensure our son fully recovers and returns to living out his dreams. Yes, we truly solicit your prayers, but we also GREATLY appreciate your monetary donations to this cause. THANK YOU and God bless you.

Sincerely,

Smitty & Shirley

JS3’s Web Creation

Wednesday, May 25—Junious is pictured laying in bed as a therapeutic harpist plays to soothe his brain

Monday, June 5—Junious is pictured sitting up in a chair following PT and breathing treatment

FATHER & SON

MOTHER & SON