While Orcott's family stayed with their son at the hospital, the town rallied to help them pay their bills.
View full sizeJohn E. Orcutt, 13, is driven through Northfield's business district as supporters cheer. He is recovering from a brain aneurysm suffered in March. His father, Edward M. Orcutt, rides behind him. NORTHFIELD – “Orcutt orange” and royal blue were the colors of the day in Northfield as dozens of family members, friends and supporters of a boy who has been seriously ill gathered along the main street to bid him welcome as he returned home from a Boston rehabilitation hospital Thursday afternoon.
John E. Orcutt, 13, a seventh grader at Pioneer Valley Regional School in Northfield, suffered from a brain aneurysm.
He had been having headaches for several days, and on March 23 while at baseball practice, he was hit in the head by a “softie” baseball. His headache got more severe, and his condition worsened; he was life-flighted to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. John suffered a stroke and brain aneurysm.
Classmate Ross K. Damon, 13, held one of the brightly colored signs to welcome John home. He said he participated because John is a good friend, “a really nice kid.” He wanted John “to feel good that everybody missed him.”
While John’s parents, Edward M. and Leann M. Orcutt, stayed with their son, their community rallied to help them.
View full sizeSome of the supporters of 13-year-old John E. Orcutt gather on Main Street in Northfield to welcome him home Thursday.“We didn’t want them to worry about losing their house while they were worrying about losing their son,” said Michelle A. Milton, a family friend and neighbor. “It’s amazing how (the community has) totally pulled together.”
Among the fund-raisers were a spaghetti dinner, a hair-cut-a-thon, T-shirt sales and a donation drive at a busy intersection. A golf tournament, basket raffle and Zumba-thon are some of the fund-raisers that are in the works.
Members of the caring community that supported the Orcutt family financially and prayerfully gathered on Main Street to cheer for John – wearing a white helmet – as he was driven home in a white convertible, escorted by Northfield firefighters and police. Orange bows adorned the tree trunks and posts along the picturesque road lined with well-kept old houses, small businesses and churches.
Many of those gathered wore orange and royal blue – John’s favorite colors – as they showed their support. “This is all about showing John and his family the support he’s got back home,” said Milton, who with her husband, Scott D. Milton, run the Orcutt Family Fundraiser page on Facebook. “As a community we can take care of our own.”
She said Edward Orcutt is self-employed with Eddie O’s Properties. The couple has two older daughters.
“We want to make sure they have what they need while this child recovers,” Milton said.
She credited neighbors Fred and Roni Anthony with being the “center of the whole deal making sure the family has what they need.”
View full sizeWearing "Orcutt orange" T-shirts, Amanda C. Damon (left) and Amber L. Orcutt get ready for Orcutt's brother, John E., 13, to arrive back home in Northfield after being hospitalized because of a brain aneurysm in March. Dayle A. Doiron, superintendent of the Pioneer Valley Regional School District, said the community’s response to the Orcutt family’s situation has been “quite remarkable – very heartwarming.”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything like it” in her 17 years in the school system, she said.
According to a posting on the Facebook page, John was excited about going home. “We have to go to Quincy to get handicap placard first, the 2:30 hemoglobin appointment, then head home. John still has a long road ahead of him, therapy, more surgery, etc.”
Another posting notes, “He is so happy. He misses home and all his friends.”
Amber L. Orcutt, John’s sister, said further surgery has been scheduled and outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy will be part of his recuperation.
Reacting to the community’s outpouring of support, she said it was almost too much to put into words. “This has gotten the entire community together,” she said.