AUBURN — Connor Turcotte spent a week in the ICU last spring after a harrowing ATV crash a half-mile from home that fractured his skull. People turned out for his family, bringing over favorite cheesecakes, meals and care packages, and now recovered, he wants to give back.
He and mom Sara Holt are organizing a book drive, kicked off with 130 of his childhood books, with a goal of gathering 500 to give out this fall.
“We have a few ideas in mind,” Turcotte, 15, said. “One would be we set up a free book stand. We’d like to put them in neighborhoods that have a lot of kids in them.”
Turcotte, who will be a sophomore at Edward Little High School next month, said he enjoys reading, but in the summer, he enjoys golf more — playing has been part of his recovery. He recently finished in third place at a junior PGA event at Martindale Country Club, where he also started a part-time job this summer cleaning golf carts.
“I still get headaches here and there; other than that, I’m feeling pretty good,” he said.
The ATV crash, which happened when one ATV was towing another and both rolled over, left Turcotte in critical condition.
“He had a skull fracture, brain bleeding and swelling — it was touch and go for the first couple of days, but he has made a tremendous recovery,” Holt said. “It was horrible, for sure, but we are so thankful that by some miracle (it wasn’t worse.) His neurosurgeon said it was all in the placement (of) his head injury and hitting the pavement. If it had been in a different spot, a different couple of spots, we could have had a very different outcome.”
Connor Turcotte holds a third place medal from a golfing event at Martindale Country Club in Auburn earlier this summer. Submitted photo
Mother and son are looking to collect books in new and used condition for a wide range of ages through Sept. 10. Holt can be reached through Facebook or by email at sarajholt@me.com to arrange for book pickups or drop-offs.
“I am beyond proud of him for many, many reasons, but I’m happy that he wants to give back and kind of looking for ways to help, whether it be kids or families in our communities, and I hope it continues,” Holt said.
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