Church supports injured director
September 3, 2004
How many
times have you leaned over to put on your seatbelt as you pulled out of a
parking lot in your car -- or in someone else's car? Smack! The car was struck on the driver's side. The impact left the driver,
who was seatbelted, with a broken collarbone. It sent Ballerino into the
windshield. The friend, one of his music students, had just picked him up to
take him to the airport. He was on his way to Spain on a vacation.
When he woke up, he thought he was in Spain. Instead, he was in a hospital
bed. "I broke just about every bone in my neck," he said.
Ballerino, organist and choir director at St. Clement's Episcopal
Church in San Clemente, hasn't played the church organ since. But he expects to
regain full mobility after undergoing 14 hours of surgery, followed by months of
physical therapy.
"I'm okay, thanks," he said Thursday. "I'm really lucky, just
unbelievably lucky."
The congregation at St. Clement's is rallying around him, sending him best
wishes and continuing to pay his salary while he is out of commission. "The
kids in the congregation drew me pictures," Ballerino said.
"It's wonderful ... unbelievable. I can't even tell you ... unbelievably
kind."
On Sept. 12, St. Clement's will host a Sunday 2 p.m. concert by a group known
as Ensemble Pacifica. Proceeds will assist Ballerino with his recovery.
"He has long-term disability insurance, but nothing short-term," said
the Rev. Canon Diane Jardine Bruce, pastor at St. Clement's. Jardine Bruce said
the musicians of Ensemble Pacifica are donating their services to help a fellow
musician.
"John is a miracle," the reverend said. "Initially, two
fingers were paralyzed, which is tragic for a pianist and organist."
Now doctors expect full recovery, she said, probably within three to six
months as his nerves heal.
Jardine Bruce said Ballerino not only plays organ and directs the
choir but is an excellent vocal coach. He holds a doctorate of musical arts from
USC. "He's been with us for a year and has just been a joy," Jardine
Bruce said.
Ballerino, who wears a neck brace while recuperating at his Los
Angeles home, said there is still numbness in his right index finger but he
expects that to be gone in just a few months. "It sounds too good to be
true," he said. "When I got out of surgery, the doctor was so pleased
that he downgraded my stay in this neck collar from nine weeks to six." He
barely remembers what happened Aug. 4. "I was reaching around," he
said. "I never saw what hit me. I had a concussion. When I woke up, I
thought I was in Spain."
Ballerino would not name the driver, who's dealing with insurance
issues since the accident. He said she is recuperating fine but the car, a
Saturn, was totaled. He said he plans to attend the Sept. 12 benefit.
MUSICAL BENEFIT
That's what professional musician John Ballerino, 47, was doing in
the front passenger seat of a friend's car on Aug. 4 as she pulled out of a gas
station into Los Angeles traffic.