By Nance Ebert, Contributing Writer
Marlborough – Three teen members of St. Stephen Lutheran Church’s Youth Group recently raised money for a fellow member who was severely injured in a tragic car accident almost three years ago.
Hudson High School students Sam Maston, Samantha Gogan and Matt Haley, all age 14, hosted a pasta dinner and trivia night and raised $850 to benefit friend Aubrey Baumbach.
Baumbach, an accomplished athlete, was a member of the crew team at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania prior to being hit by a car and suffering a traumatic brain injury. She was in a coma and spent a month in a local hospital. After she was stabilized, she was moved back to Boston-area hospitals where she has undergone extensive therapy and continues to get stronger and reach new goals.
Baumbach also spent time at Community Rehab Care in Watertown, where Maston, Gogan and Haley decided the money raised should be donated.
Baumbach’s mother, Lisa, was very appreciative of the staff there and all they have done for her daughter.
“Aubrey is actually using this new technology that was purchased with the money raised,” Lisa Baumbach explained. “Even though her progress has been slow, it is definitely moving in the right direction. She is talking, eating food but the one lasting impairment seems to be her memory, although in the past four months she is able to retain more.”
Added Sam Maston’s mother, Sarah: “There was a new software program with a $1,000 price tag attached. They were able to purchase this software because of the money that these students raised. They even got to go there for a visit, meet the therapists and learn about the new software and how it could help other patients. They got a ‘hands-on’ view of what can be done.”
St. Stephen Lutheran Church has most certainly been a source of strength for the Baumbach family. Members would come to their home in Sudbury, play cards, send notes and, of course, include them in prayer.
“I find it amazing that something as simple as cooking up a meal for our church community and local friends can make the difference between someone feeling lost and being found, the difference between a difficult life and a remarkable recovery,” said Sam Maston. “I’ll be taking away the joy, the pride, and the knowledge that someone’s day will be brighter, someone’s day just got easier and someone’s life just got better, just because we were helping a friend.”
