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TMCNet: Plea to help teen paralyzed in stabbing

[June 15, 2012]

Plea to help teen paralyzed in stabbing

ALBANY, Jun 15, 2012 (Times Union - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- An 18-year-old man pleaded not guilty to robbery and assault Friday as the ninth-grader he's accused of attacking over a bicycle -- a stabbing that left the 15-year-old paralyzed and on a respirator -- was ferried by air ambulance to a hospital in Atlanta to start to learn to live without the use of most of his body.
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Juan Anderson, of Lark Street, was arraigned Friday morning in front of County Judge Stephen Herrick on a three-count indictment and sent back to the Albany County jail without bail.

Meanwhile, nine miles away, Adeujuan Adams was gingerly transferred from an ambulance to a waiting jet at Albany International Airport bound for the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, a catastrophic care hospital that specializes in adolescents with spinal cord injuries.

"That's the only way that I'm able to concentrate on being able to care for my son is knowing he's off the streets," Adams' mother, Stephanie Sanders, said of Anderson as she boarded the aircraft in front of the Million Air terminal.

Of her stricken son, she said: "He's doing much better. He'll be doing even better once he gets there." The series of events that led to both scenes -- in the Lodge Street courthouse and on the tarmac -- began three weeks, just before 9:30 p.m. on May 25 in the city's South End.

It was then, according to police and prosecutors, that Anderson approached Adams on Third Avenue and stabbed him in the neck with a knife while trying to steel the teen's bicycle.

Adams, a Renssealer resident and new ninth-grader at the tiny Harriet Tubman Democratic High School on Elizabeth Street, instantly crumpled to the ground. Defenseless with his spinal cord 90 percent severed, Adams lay bleeding while Anderson kicked and punched him, authorities allege.

District Attorney David Soares said the motive for the attack is believed to have been robbery and that the two young men knew each other -- but not well.

In the three weeks since, the community has rallied around Adams' family, helping raise the roughly $11,000 needed to pay for the air ambulance trip to Atlanta.

Adams' stepfather, Terrence Roberts, works in the maintenance department at Albany Memorial Hospital, and the fundraising to send the boy to Atlanta was given an initial boost when St. Peter's Health Partners, whose network includes Albany Memorial, tapped into a pool of employee hardship funds. Private donations soon followed.

"They decided that this was a kid that needed a chance," said Elmer Streeter, a spokesman for St. Peter's Hospital. "Father's Day is coming up. No father should have to see his child like this." Because Adams is on full life support, doctors determined that an air ambulance was the safest way to transport him to Atlanta, but the family's health insurance would not pay for it.

Despite the severity of his injuries and breathing only with the assistance of a respirator, Adams' spirits have remained high, buoyed by regular deliveries of cookies 'n' cream milk shakes from the police detectives assigned to his case, Soares said.

"This is a young man who's got a smile on his face and is enthusiastic about the life that he has," the district attorney said.

Soares said the community is seeking not just financial contributions to help defray the costs of the family's stay in Atlanta but also support from professionals or others who can help Adams' family learn the ropes of living with permanent disabilities.

Sanders, Adams' mother, said the support that the family's already received has been overwhelming.

"It's truly been a godsend," Sanders said before ascending the steps of the airplane to sit at her son's side. "Everybody in the community has been praying for us." Soares said that shouldn't be surprising." "When something happens to a child in Albany," the prosecutor said, "that child belongs to everyone." How to help Adeujuan Adams' family has set up a fund at Capital Communications Federal Credit Union to accommodate donations to defray the costs of his care.

Contributions can be sent to: Adeujuan Adams Fund PO Box 6818 Albany NY 12206 jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com --518-454-5445 --@JCEvangelist_TU How to help: Adeujuan Adams' family has set up a fund at Capital Communications Federal Credit Union to accommodate donations to defray the costs of his care.

Contributions can be sent to: Adeujuan Adams Fund PO Box 6818 Albany NY 12206 ___ (c)2012 Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) Visit Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) at www.timesunion.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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