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| | | (SPECIAL/www.northfulton.com)
Will Carter, a 17-year-old Roswell High School student, is still recovering from an Oct. 5 car accident. His family has received immense support from the community.
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December 05, 2007
Will Carter, a 17-year-old Roswell High School student, was like any other teenager driving home from his job at Shane's Rib Shack on a Friday night -- until he was in a serious car wreck.
After the Oct. 5 accident, Will had to put drama club and the debate team on hold and focus on his recovery.
He suffered a brain injury and has problems with short term memory. He remained at North Fulton Regional Hospital since the accident but was moved in early November to the Shepherd Center. The Carter family, who live in Roswell, is hoping Will can come home at the end of December.
Through the long, emotional process, his family has received an abundance of support from the community.
A Verizon Wireless employee donated a wireless card so Will's father, Bob Carter, could work from the hospital.
Johns Creek resident and fellow Perimeter Church member Doug Russ had the idea to donate an RV from his company, RV Connection, for Will's parents to stay in at the hospital to be near their son.
"When a crisis like this happens, everybody wants to help. We thought we had something that would make like easier for the family," said Russ.
By typing on a keyboard, Bob Carter can update friends, family and the community on his son's condition and long recovery.
Each week Bob provides an update through www.caringbridge.org, a non-profit Web site that connects family and friends during an illness, treatment or recovery.
The Caring Bridge Web site for Will has received more than 60,000 hits as of press time, for which Bob Carter is grateful.
"The postings of support have been of great encouragement," he said.
Bob said he has received more than 1,450 messages of support via Caring Bridge and has begun reading the encouraging messages to Will.
"It's also helpful because I could update it daily. If you have to keep repeating the story over and over, it wears you out," said Bob. "Plus, it just gave people an up-to-date of what's going on."
Bob, a pastor at Perimeter Church, said some community members donated their time and energy to cleaning the family's home or mowing their lawn – without asking the Carters if they needed any help.
"We've gotten a lot of support from Roswell High School, the administration, teachers and several of Will's friends," said Bob. "We've also had a number of people in the community in general who've expressed their support in an overwhelming way."
Bob said Will wanted to organize a benefit concert at Perimeter Church to raise money for victims in Darfur and Sudan.
He said Will's wish was coming true – an Improv Night was held in November to benefit Darfur. Ticket sales and red wristbands were sold to fund the cause. The red wristbands were inscribed with Will's name and a profound message – "Where There's a Will, There's a Way."
- www.northfulton.com
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