Community shows support for beloved West Ashley boiled peanut man
by Bill Davis | News Editor
It just rained and Tim “Timbo” Grainger is placing both of his hands on the handrail to help guide himself, one step at a time, down from his 52-year-old orange trailer on Hwy. 61
It’s the first time in months that he’s been able to man his boiled peanut stand, though he still isn’t strong enough to lift the pots on, or off, the burners and relies on a helper for that.
For the previous 19 years before that, Grainger has sold the uniquely Southern snack in that spot.
But then sepsis intervened on Jan. 31. Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition when the body has an extreme response to an infection in its tissues.
“Hit me like a rock,” says Grainger of the affliction that first attacked his legs. “I was in and out of consciousness that day. I had to crawl to the phone in the house.”
The phone, however, was in the middle of the bed where he couldn’t reach it. And with his legs out of commission, he had to figure a way to get to it.
“What saved me was a $1 back scratcher,” he says. Grainger used the back scratcher between bouts of consciousness, to drag the phone to where he could grab it and call the fire department for help.
One responder was strong enough to lift the 190-pound, dead weight Grainger off the floor and place him on the bed before the crew used a litter to carry him out of his Summerville-area home.
Taken to Trident Hospital in North Charleston initially, he was transferred to MUSC, and placed immediately into the intensive care unit. There, Grainger “just about lost it, but zeroed in on a clock on the wall, taking deep breaths” in lungs already racked by chronic asthma.
It did not look promising. But-bit by-bit, doctor-by-doctor, Grainger began to get better. After four weeks, he was able to take short walks in the halls with the help of a walker.
A week later he was in a long-term physical rehab facility. And dealing with the after-effects of Covid, which he contracted in the hospital.
“All my leg muscles were flabby, though I could stand on my feet, and started getting around without my walker, weaning myself off the walker,” he says. He was going slow, not going too far out on a limb, “not getting cocky doing Evel Knieval stuff.”
After a few more weeks, the insurance-less Grainger headed home, only to find that his stand hadn’t been taken care of, but that one of his business neighbors on Hwy. 61 was helping him out financially.
For the past 15 years, Kimberly Koontz and her husband have run an auto repair shop down the road, and always liked to stop by the trailer to say hello.
Back in April, she set up a GoFundMe page to raise $16,000 to help her friend “Timbo” cover his expenses.
“I grew up all my life in West Ashley and have seen and bought peanuts from him since I was a teenager,” says Koontz. “He’s self-employed, just like us, and he would do the same thing for us if my husband was injured.”
By the end of May, nearly $4,000 had been donated, blowing away Grainger, along with those who heaped on emotional support. One donor wrote, “Timbo is the sweetest man! Get better soon!”
Another wrote, “Timbo loves his customers.”
“I knew I had clientele, but there are people who give what they don’t have,” says an amazed Grainger, referencing a local official who gave $500.
Next up for Grainger will be the slow road to recovery, keeping his weight and fluids down so his feet won’t swell, which could exacerbate his diabetes and make going to dialysis even tougher.
He plans to apply soon for Medicaid and Medicare. But it may be too late, as he expects the total bill to top $400,000.
Despite his troubles, he’s looking forward to a new trailer he’s purchased to replace the 1970 Airstream. “I got the good days out of it.”
The new one, 30 years newer, will have better air-conditioning, living quarters, indoor plumbing, and even cabinets.
“I might just get a Lazy-Boy recliner to sit in and a stage on the roof for July 4th, and hire a girl in Daisy Dukes to dance around and draw’em in.”
That’s not what draws them in. It’s you, Timbo, and your delicious peanuts.
