Amica Press Releases
03.05.10
Hospital patient receives Amica Game Ball and VIP treatment at Celtics game
Tommy Heinsohn, legendary coach and player for the Boston Celtics, presents the Amica Game Ball to Children’s Hospital Boston patient Samantha “Sam” Para before a recent Celtics game.
BOSTON – Samantha “Sam” Para isn’t a huge sports fan, but she was thrilled when Children’s Hospital Boston invited her to receive the Amica Game Ball during a Boston Celtics game earlier this week to highlight the Amica Game Ball program.
Sam, 18, a high school senior who lives Bourne, MA, has been a patient at Children’s Hospital Boston for the past several years, since having brain surgery to stop the seizures she’d been suffering since birth.
She’s the most recent patient there to be chosen to receive the Amica Game Ball – an official NBA basketball autographed by legendary Celtics player and coach Tommy Heinsohn. For each of Comcast SportsNet’s 70 Boston Celtics telecasts, Amica donates one of these balls to a patient at Children’s Hospital and donates $500 in the name of that patient – for a total donation of $35,000 this year.
To highlight the Amica Game Ball program and Amica’s commitment to the hospital, Sam was invited to attend the Celtics game on Wednesday (March 3) at TD Bank North Garden as a guest of Comcast SportsNet. She got a behind-the-scenes tour of the garden, a courtside view of the pre-game warm-ups and two tickets to the Comcast SportsNet suite from which she and her dad, Steve, watched the game.
Sam also got to meet with Heinsohn, a member of the NBA Hall of Fame who’s won 10 NBA titles as a Celtics player and coach. He’s now a color commentator for Celtics’ broadcasts for the Comcast SportsNet and he chatted with Sam and her dad before heading out to the court to hand her the autographed basketball and a bag filled with other Celtics memorabilia.
“This is awesome!” Sam declared, beaming, as she and her dad settled in to watch the game.
It’s also a moment that Steve and Annie Para never could have imagined 18 years ago, when they learned that Samantha had suffered a severe pre-natal stroke, Steve Para said. The stroke severely damaged the left side of her brain, which in turn meant the right side of her body never developed to its full potential. So she needed more than a half-dozen surgeries to try to correct problems with her arm and leg, as well as her eyes, her dad said.
But she also suffered chronic seizures – as many as 20 a day – that left her with debilitating headaches and fatigue, Steve Para recalled. At first, they were controlled by medications. But by the time Sam entered high school, they were running out of options. They were referred to Children’s Hospital Boston when Sam was a freshman in high school and doctors were able to perform a hemispherectomy, in which they essentially disconnected the damaged left side of the brain so it wouldn’t send misfired signals to the right side of the brain, resulting in the seizures.
“At first, I was kind of scared,” Sam admits. But she also knew what had to be done.
Thankfully, the surgery was successful. The seizures stopped. And Sam’s back to looking forward to graduating from Bourne High School this spring, with plans to spend the summer sailing and water skiing. Then, it’s off to Cape Cod Community College this fall with plans to eventually go to Westfield State College to become an elementary school teacher.
Meanwhile, she’s still a frequent visitor at Children’s Hospital, where she sees a variety of specialists because of her medical condition. And that’s how she came to be chosen as a recipient of Amica’s Game Ball, when the hospital invited her to attend the game. “I said, ‘Sure!’ “ Sam replied. But she never dreamed she’d be getting first-class treatment, including being able to sit beside the court while the Celtics warmed up and in the luxury suites during the game.
Sam admitted she didn’t know many of the Celtics players, so her dad had to coach her as they sipped soda, munched pizza and watched the Celtics crush the Charlotte Bobcats 104-80.
“It was awesome. It was amazing,” Sam said after the game. The best part? “Just being there – just experiencing being at the game because I’ve never been to a game before.”
About Amica
Amica Mutual Insurance Company, the nation's oldest mutual insurer of automobiles, was founded in 1907 in Providence, RI. The company is a national writer of automobile, homeowners, marine, and personal umbrella liability insurance. Amica's national headquarters are based in Lincoln, RI, and the company employs 3,200 people in 40 offices across the country. Visit Amica.com.
About Comcast SportsNet
Comcast SportsNet reaches more than four million households in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Comcast SportsNet's programming includes the Boston Celtics, Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight, Celtics Now, Sports Sunday, The Baseball Show, New England Tailgate and Net Impact. Comcast SportsNet's partnership with the 17-time NBA Champion Boston Celtics is the longest team-regional sports network relationship in New England and the fourth longest in professional sports. Comcast SportsNet New England is owned and managed by Comcast Sports Group. Visit www.comcastsportsnet.com for more information.
