With Help from Friends, Paralyzed Teen Rebounds
September 30, 1987
Source: The Times Herald
Author: Regina Ann Purifico
George Butera is getting by with a little help from his friends.
Butera, 19, of Whitpain, was injured in a swimming accident 15 months ago in Ocean City, which left him paralyzed from the chest down.
He now depends largely on friends and family to help see to his daily needs.
“I can’t begin to put into words how difficult this whole situation has been,” Butera said on Monday. “My friends, they’ve made it so much easier. I wouldn’t have been able to get through this without them.”
One man who has developed an especially close friendship with the 1985 Wissahickon High School graduate is Wit Hammond, former owner of J.B. Witley’s restaurant in Whitpain.
Hammond and a group of Butera’s friends raised $31,000 last year at a benefit concert at Mermaid Lake in Whitpain to help pay for the teenager’s steadily mounting medical bills.
Hammond said the group hopes to raise twice that amount at this year’s scheduled concert on Oct. 4 off Jolly Road.
Appearing at the six-hour concert will be Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, The Flamin’ Caucasians, Bricklin, Dynagroove, special guest star Andy King of The Hooters and comedian Big Daddy Graham.
The concert starts at noon and will be hosted by radio station WMMR-FM.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. They may be purchased at local Ticketron and Teleltron agencies, Whitpain Beverage; ShopRite, East Norriton; Orleans, Paoli; Plastic Fantastic, Bryn Mawr; and Mads discount records, Ardmore.
Proceeds from the concert also will benefit Jimmy Brown of Narberth.
The left side of Brown’s brain and his spinal cord were damaged in a car accident on April 19, 1986. Friends of the teenager say he’ll never walk or talk again.
Brown was a 16-year-old star athlete at Lower Merion High School when the accident happened.
The Narberth teenager has spent about a year and a half in hospitals, the most recent being Moss Rehabilitation Center in Olney. He hopes to be home by Christmas.
After the accident last year in Ocean City, Butera spent seven months in therapy, the first two at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and the remainder at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo.
George came home on Jan. 8.
He can move his head, breathe and talk normally. Recently, he acquired some limited movement in his left arm.
Doctors say Butera eventually will regain the use of his arms.
Butera’s parents, Gasper “Gab” and Antoinette “Toni” Butera, recently converted their garage into a bedroom for their youngest son.
George has a special shower to accommodate himself and his battery-operated wheelchair.
Someday he hopes to acquire special computer equipment, which will help him control the lights, telephone, locks and other mechanical devices in his room.
Butera’s classmates who remember him as an avid swimmer, soccer and lacrosse player in high school have tried to keep his spirits up.
“They’ve all done so much for him,” George’s mother said. “They’re great friends.”
Hammond learned about Butera’s accident last summer from a restaurant employee, Joseph Keidel, who was with George on the day of the accident.
“They have extensive costs for rehabilitation,” Hammond said of the boys’ medical needs. “Insurance only goes so far. George’s, insurance has stopped.”
Hammond said the group is looking for a corporation to provide $5,000 for the special computer Butera needs for his room.
Toni Butera did not want to reveal George’s medical costs. She did say he has many expenses, though.
“These fund-raisers, they really help a lot,” she said.
Another key to George’s recovery, she said, has been his girlfriend, Debbie O’Brien of Lansdale.
The two met while Butera worked at ShopRite in East Norriton.
“She’s with him as much as she can,” Mrs. Butera said. “When she can, she helps him with his homework.”
Day by day, Butera is, slowly rebuilding his life.
He returned to Temple University’s Ambler campus on Sept. 2, where he is a sophomore studying business marketing.
Students in his classes take notes for him. He is able to read using a special mouthpiece to turn pages.
His friends drive him to and from school and take turns keeping him company when he comes home.