BOUNTIFUL BLESSING : SIMI FIRM RAISES FUNDS TO HELP SICK CHILD.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

The biggest surprises in the Koss family's lives seem to come from total strangers.

First were the phone calls from well wishers, offering support to Scott Koss and Shannon Smith, whose 2-year-old son, Steven, suffers from severe aplastic anemia. Then came word that employees of Countrywide Home Loans in Simi Valley had collected about $28,200 to help treat the incurable disease, which is marked by dangerously low levels of white and red blood cells and platelets.

``It makes you want to cry,'' said Smith, who is expecting the couple's second child in June. ``It's very sweet that people are donating.''

Koss said he has received many calls over the months from people wanting to help. ``People we don't even know are calling us - it's unbelievable how many people are out there that want to help,'' Koss said.

The Thousand Oaks youngster has been battling the blood condition for more than a year, undergoing twice-weekly transfusions and other medical treatments to keep the disease in check.

The boy's parents had been trying to raise money for a stem cell transplant using blood from a newborn's umbilical cord or bone marrow from a matching donor.

Though an umbilical cord match has been found, the $300,000 procedure has been put on hold because young Steven's blood count has jumped recently from near zero to about 50 percent of normal, Koss said. However, doctors can't predict how long the disease will be in remission.

The Countrywide fund-raiser was spearheaded by Karen Michaels, president of the financial institution's Simi Valley Employee Club, which regularly raises money for such charitable organizations as the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society.

Michaels said she was alerted to Steven's plight by a flier from the Children's Organ Transplant Association, seeking volunteers for a fund-raiser for Steven.

``It just caught my attention right away,'' Michaels said. ``From the beginning I just wanted to do something with it.''

The first event - a raffle of a Thomas Kinkaid painting - raised about $3,600, Michaels said. Then about 800 employees raised approximately $20,000 by redeeming the $25 gift certificates they received from the company for Christmas.

Other raffles and fund-raisers eventually drew donations from most of Countrywide's 4,000 employees nationwide, she said.

``It is the largest contribution that the Countrywide employees have given to one (recipient),'' said company spokesman Mark Benhard.

Smith said the money will go into the bank for a transplant or to help pay for the youngster's medication. The account is now about $50,000 strong, she said.

Michaels is as surprised as the Koss family at the companywide outpouring of help. ``It's just incredible to see so many people come together.''

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Photo: (Ran in Simi and Conejo--color) Shannon Smith and Scott Koss are overwhelmed by the support they've received for their son, Steven, 2, who has aplastic anemia.

Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News