HEDELT: Oyster roast to aid trauma survivor

Feb. 23--IT'S impossible to meet Stafford County'sBeau Barbeau and not be moved by his faith and determination that a better day will come.

The 37-year-old Verizon FiOS technician has had his share of dark days following a freak accident last June in which a storm toppled a tree onto his pickup as he was driving home from work.

Barbeau spent two weeks in Mary Washington Hospital as doctors dealt with the broken neck he suffered when the tree collapsed the cab of the truck.

From there, it was off to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in D.C., where Barbeau spent months slowly gaining strength and the use of his arms and hands.

The Stafford High grad says he's getting some feeling back and slight movement in his feet, which gives him hope that he'll one day escape the wheelchair that for now is his constant companion.

"I said from day one that I will not accept anything less than a 100 percent recovery," said Barbeau, eyes moist from recalling the traumatic accident. "Will and determination are what have gotten me this far and, God willing, they will get me the rest of the way."

Saturday, March 1, the proud and determined Barbeau and his family will get help that could very well play a major part in any continued recovery.

He's been designated

as the recipient of funds raised by this year's 30th annual oyster roast sponsored by Fairview Baptist Church and White Oak Equipment.

Barbeau and his wife, Tracy, say they have the faith and determination that they pray will give him back the use of his legs.

But even with full insurance through his job, and Tracy's work for a local engineering firm, the bills from eight months in either the hospital or the rehabilitation facility have pushed costs beyond what any ordinary working family can pay.

"Even if our insurance pays 90 percent of many of these bills, what's left for us to pay will be staggering," said Tracy Barbeau. "It's hard to even keep track of."

Beyond that, the couple who met in high school and married after graduating say there are expenses beyond the bills themselves. That includes travel costs, the loss of his income and other bills related to his injury.

The family hopes to use proceeds from the oyster roast to cover not just un-reimbursed medical costs, but to help outfit his car with handicap controls and to purchase medical equipment to support his rehab work at home.

"From the beginning, Beau's pushed himself as hard as he could in rehab," said Tracy.

She said the family has been blessed to receive help from friends and well-wishers that included holding of other fundraisers and construction of a front-door ramp at their Stafford home.

And she appreciates the flexibility her employers have given her to mix a few days in the office with several at home so she could take her husband

to outpatient rehab three days a week in Washington.

But she says changes in the office may lessen that flexibility in the near future, possibly making family finances even tougher.

The Barbeaus say they felt the hand of God in the surgery on Beau's neck--as they did when they learned his spinal cord had not been severed in the accident.

Constant prayer and assistance from friends and family have helped them stay positive, even though some medical experts say

a full recovery may never happen.

"I can't let thoughts like that get me down," said Barbeau, who suffered but then recovered from a less-debilitating broken back suffered a few years earlier in a fall while helping a relative make roofing repairs.

Tracy, who believes prayer helped them have their daughter after early efforts failed, said she thinks God will help Beau make it back.

Both say they're humbled and appreciative to be the recipient of this year's oyster roast, something they didn't know a great deal about before now.

I know that Barbeau, this proud father of 7-year-old daughter Summer, has a difficult road ahead of him.

But he said the support

of so many, a group that will now grow because of the oyster roast, makes a difference.

"I've come a long way and think I can keep getting better," said Barbeau.

He notes that, for him, recovery is a fight. One he's determined to win.

Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415

[email protected]

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