TEEN WHO LOST ARMS FACES FUTURE WITH HOPE, WORLDWIDE ASSISTANCE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 1, 1992                   TAG: 9202010253
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ROBBINSDALE, MINN.                                LENGTH: Medium
TEEN WHO LOST ARMS FACES FUTURE WITH HOPE, WORLDWIDE ASSISTANCE
John Thompson spends his days much as any 18-year-old might, watching movies like "Backdraft," listening to Guns N' Roses and fretting about his high school graduation.
But he does it in a hospital bed, swathed in bandages, under the shadow of the day that changed his life - the day his arms were ripped off in an accident on his family's farm in Hurdsfield, N.D.
The high school senior remains in fair condition at North Memorial Medical Center, recovering from the operation that reattached his arms and wondering what his future holds.
Thompson's doctors say he faces years of physical therapy. They are not sure if he will regain use of his arms below the elbows.
"All in all, he's been pretty good, but he does have times of depression," his sister, Kim Blotter, of Fargo, N.D., said Wednesday. "He wonders if he'll ever be able to do the things he was able to do."
"I'm trying to figure out what I'll be able to do with my hands, how I'll finish high school, if I can drive again," Thompson said in the Feb. 3 issue of People magazine.
Nearly three weeks have passed since Thompson's arms were severed 3 to 4 inches below the shoulders by a piece of farming equipment. To survive he staggered about 400 feet to his house, twisted doorknobs with his mouth, clenched a pencil to phone for help and remained clear-headed enough to remind ambulance workers to pack his severed arms in ice.
Thompson looks forward to leaving the hospital, but he worries about his friends' reactions, Blotter said.
"He has days when he wants to see people and he has days when he doesn't want people to see him," Blotter said.
Doctors have said Thompson probably will be released next month.
"He's really worried, he wants to graduate with his class this spring," said Blotter. "We talked to the principal and he said there shouldn't be a problem with that."
At the hospital near Minneapolis, Thompson passes time visiting with family, listening to music and watching movies.
"He loves the rock music group Firehouse and likes Guns N' Roses," hospital spokeswoman Nancy Miller said. "They weren't able to come over for a visit when they were in town for their concert, but they sent over T-shirts and photos."
Donations have poured in to help pay Thompson's medical bills. Thirty volunteers on Monday recorded several thousand cards and donations, Miller said.
At First State Bank in Goodrich, N.D., a fund for Thompson totaled $247,000 as of Thursday, said Karen Konschak, a bank vice president.
The bank has received about 9,000 letters from throughout the United States and Switzerland, England, Hong Kong, Norway and South Africa, she said.
"One little girl wrote saying she had a serious illness and couldn't walk. She gave him a dollar that she got from the tooth fairy," said Konschak. "These are things that are coming from the heart."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB