Marblehead supports injured student

MARBLEHEAD – His immediate family is gathered at his hospital bed in France. But the Family of Marblehead is rallying locally behind high school senior Ben Farrar through social media, bracelets and fundraising to help the young man’s recovery from a spinal injury while on a school trip.”This journey for him is going to be a long one and the costs they are incurring – being in France for so long, and then returning home and the treatment here – are substantial, but not really known,” said Jacqui Lewis, the Farrars’ neighbor. Ben Farrar was on a school trip in France April 19 when he dove into shallow water at a beach and hit his head against the bottom of the ocean. The collision crushed vertebrae in Farrar’s neck and paralyzed him, also causing a large amount of salt water to flood his lungs. He has been in a hospital in Nice, France, since the incident, and his mother and father and sister are by his side. Once he is able to breathe on his own, Farrar will be flown back to the United States for treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. But Lewis said that may be weeks away.The Marblehead community has meanwhile rallied in support. A vigil at the Star of the Sea Catholic Church attracted about 1,000 people, Farrar’s uncle Rick said Monday.”I’m amazed that people came and just want to thank the kids for saving Ben,” said Rick Farrar, speaking of the other students on the trip who alerted authorities after the incident.Farrar’s friend Andrew Gilliland set up a Facebook page where the family could post regular updates on Farrar’s condition. Now Lewis has set up a GoFundMe page where community members can donate to the family. A fund has also been set up at National Grand Bank to support the family.”I think it’s difficult for (the family) to fully be aware of what the implications are going to be because they are in France and don’t yet know,” Lewis said. While insurance policies may hopefully cover health treatment – or at least some treatment – the family has had to stay in a hotel for several weeks and is now renting an apartment, Lewis said. Meanwhile, the recovery treatment is expected to be long, but also largely unknown.”We do not know what it’s going to take once he’s flown by medical jet home,” said Rick Farrar. “I expect him to walk again, myself, and we’re just trying to raise as much money as we can, so I can take the pressure off my brother.”So Rick Farrar appeared on the Greg Hill radio show on WAAF. People might also notice rubber Ben Strong bracelets offered for $5 at local merchants.”Marblehead is such a close-knit community that I think people try to help out a lot when they can on different initiatives and when we opened the store, being part of the community was really important for us,” said Beth Tauro, who owns The Crazy Candy Lady on Pleasant Street. So far the store has sold 23 of its 50 Ben Strong bracelets. Tauro said she doesn’t know the Farrars and has never met Ben. But one of the store’s employees was on the trip to France with Ben.”I think people try and do what they can in these circumstances, because everyone knows someone who knows those involved.”