WESTFIELD – High school is often a stressful time, as students come of age, start to chart their courses and find out who they really are.
Erica Paul, a senior at Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional High School, is one such student, who enjoys dance and theater.
Last month, Paul suffered a massive pulmonary embolism. Her heart stopped for over twenty minutes in the ambulance and for almost two weeks, the seventeen-year-old lay in a coma, machines keeping her alive.
She survived with only minimal brain damage and is currently at a rehabilitation center, but the ordeal has come at a high cost. As if Paul’s unfortunate ordeal wasn’t enough, it is her family’s second in the past two years, as her father passed away from melanoma cancer last year.
Enter the Westfield State University Circle K Club, which has helped Paul’s close friend, Kayleen Gerow, organize a benefit performance in the university’s Dever Auditorium on Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m.
“I want to do all that I can and support her family,” said Gerow. “Erica is a dancer and a strong member of the drama club at Southwick, as I was.”
Gerow added that she is independently putting on a benefit show for Paul and her family with members of the STGRHS drama club and Paul’s dance studio, Toe to Toe in West Springfield.
Gerow has been getting commitments from sponsors for a bake sale, as well as printing out flyers, programs and tickets for the event.
“Everything is set to go, and this show should be an incredible event,” she said. “I have been working incredibly hard to pull this show together for Erica and her family, staying up all hours of the night preparing, and I cannot wait until the show date.”
The show will include several musical numbers and dance pieces that “inspire hope, laughter, and unity from those who know and love Erica.”
Tickets for the show can be obtained by sending an email to [email protected] or by visiting the Westfield State University box office.
