MELROSE – Tayler Buchanan never met Sage Pridemore. In fact, most of the people who attended the Operation #SageStrong rally on Saturday, July 31, didn’t know the 14-year-old.

But they all were compelled to fill the Melrose Heritage Park for six hours to raise money and awareness to the middle schooler who received a life-saving heart transplant a few hours earlier.

“When my parents said they wanted to support Sage, I said I wanted to go, too,” Tayler said. “We support people here. We care about each other.”

Tayler waved a sign on State Road 26 asking passing drivers to join the party. And since the event originally was scheduled to offer Sage encouragement while he waited for a heart at the UF Health Heart and Vascular Hospital in Gainesville. But a day before the first hamburger hit the grill and the first of four bands starting playing, Sage got his heart.

“This turned into a jubilee,” said organizer Terry “Sarge” Huffman. “One family is celebrating; another is planning for a funeral. It’s a hard thing to think about, really.”

Pridemore, who attends Keystone Heights Junior High, went into surgery late Thursday, July 29. It arrived in an Alachua County Rescue Squad ambulance and was quickly transported into the hospital by three technicians. From there, Dr. Mark S. Bleiweis performed the operation that was deemed “successful.”

The mission at Heritage Park didn’t change. Nearly $10,000 was collected – and more still coming in – from raffles, sales and donations, Huffman said.

“He was a sick little boy,” Huffman said. “He’s doing so much better now. It was a miracle, but he still needs our prayers.”

Dena Collins worked in a booth provided by Advanced Auto Parts. The manager of the Keystone Heights store worked with eight other stores in the Lakes Region to collect merchandise and souvenirs to help the Pridemore’s with their medical costs.

“I don’t know the boy, but we do so much for our community,” Collins said. “It was so nice to hear he was doing well. We know he’s in good hands. We wanted him to know how much his community supports him.”

Advanced commercial manager Rocky Johnson sold raffle tickets and sold T-shirts. Every dime went toward the Pridemore family.

Sage continued to show improvement in the days following surgery, according to his family. He did suffer a setback when doctors performed a bronchoscopy to on Tuesday to check his lungs and air passages.

On Wednesday, Sage took his first walk following the surgery.

“Sage is the strongest kid I know,” his mother, Candy Pridemore, said.

The boy was born with half of a heart. The condition is called hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He’s required several surgeries to remove bronchial casts since he was 3. In fact, he needed that procedure just days before his transplant.

Sage originally was supposed to get a new heart on June 21, but that surgery was called off when he developed a fever. Doctors told the family his need for a new heart has become desperate.

Desperation turned into reality. And a community joined to celebrate, including his older brother, Jacobi Pridemore.

“I saw Sage before the surgery,” Jacobi said. “You don’t know what to feel. You’re happy, but you’re scared.

“I don’t know half of these people, but I want them to know how much we appreciate them.”