Gary Chisolm hopes to someday to take his nephew, David Ray Lack, a 23-year-old U.S. Marine, deer hunting.

And that's what he told Lack when he visited him at the National Navy Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

But for now, Lack's family is waiting for him to get well enough to leave the hospital.

Lack, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., was injured by an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan last month — it was his first deployment. He has lost part of his right leg below the knee and suffers from broken bones in an arm and hand, damaged eardrums, collapsed lungs, a torn retina and shrapnel wounds.

"It's hard to see a family member in the hospital like that," said Chisolm of Gregory, Michigan.

Despite Lack's injuries, Chisolm said he was his usual "laid back, relaxed, quiet" self when he visited him.

"I'm not depressed. I'm not going to be depressed," Chisolm said Lack told him. Lack's aunt Debbie Chisolm and other family members and friends in Michigan wanted to do something to help Lack and his parents, Debbie and David Lack, so they organized a benefit at Dexter’s Pub, 8114 Main St., in Dexter Saturday to help curb the family’s expenses. “David’s mom and dad are with him now (in Maryland),” Debbie Chisolm, of Dexter, said a few days before the benefit. “They want a care-giver with him at all times, so they stay with him.” She added, “Who’s taking care of Debbie and David? The government is not paying their expenses for their home, their cars. They’re not working."

Visitors to the benefit, which ran from about 11 a.m. to closing time, enjoyed food and live music. A silent auction and a 50/50 raffle of donated prizes helped raise money for Lack and his parents. And the pub donated 10 percent of the day's profits to the cause.

By about 4:30 p.m. Gary Chisolm estimated that at least 100 people had attended the benefit. He expected the crowd to pick up later in the evening. Donations were accepted at the pub Saturday, but Debbie Chisolm said donations can also be given at Dexter’s United Bank and Trust, 7200 Dexter-Ann Arbor Road. As of Monday, she said, the bank had collected $317 in donations. “This is something we can do to help them right now,” Debbie Chisolm said. “The military doesn’t pay for everything.”

Gary Chisolm said it was "touching" to receive the community support.

"It's amazing. People are great, they really are," he said, with tears in his eyes. Matt Chisolm, Lack's cousin, has not been able to see or talk to Lack since he was injured. He described his cousin as "just a really nice kid."

"He (is) a shy and quiet, fun-loving kid. Likes to fish and hunt," said Matt Chisolm, of Dexter. "We're just happy to have him alive."

Debbie Chisolm said her nephew has a great sense of humor — a trait she hopes will help him get through this difficult time.

Lack's mother said her son had thought about joining the Marines when he was in high school but became a certified welder after graduating. Then, when he was 21, she said, he decided the time was right.

"Since he was in his 20s, if he was going to do it, he had to do it then," she said.

Debbie Lack said her son is "a fighter" and is staying positive, telling his friends, who are unsure of how to deal with the situation, "It's still me."

"He's in very good spirits. He has a good attitude, compared to what he's been through," she said. "He has just said, from the beginning, 'This isn't going to get me down.'"

Becky Schultz, of Pinckney, attended the benefit with her family. She said Dexter is a close-knit community and wasn't surprised that people came forward to help.

"Dexter is the best town, I used to live here," said Schultz, a friend of Debbie Chisolm. "This is the best place to raise your kids. ... It doesn't surprise me that people would come out to support this."

Debbie Lack said words can't express her gratitude to the people who have supported her family.

"It's very emotional to see people, who have never met us, my son, step up to the plate," she said. "People all over have just wanted to help so much."

She added, "It makes you wonder if you do enough for others. It makes you want to pay it forward."

Debbie Chisolm said the situation has been difficult for the entire family. “It’s not a good thing, not a good thing. It’s really hurt this family hard,” she said. “I’m a mom, and I can’t imagine what that’s like, to watch your child go through that pain and not be able to take it away, to help them." Lack's mother says, though challenges await him, their family remains optimistic.

"David's going to be just fine. He has a long life ahead of him," she said. Heather Lockwood is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at heatherlockwood@annarbor.com or follow her on Twitter.