Community rushes to aid of seriously injured Westford principal

WESTFORD, Mass. — Kevin LaCoste was playing with his kids, hiding from them up in a tree when he slipped and fell.

“With spinal cord injuries, there are just varying degrees of what people are able to get back," LaCoste's sister, Lori O'Donnell, said.

Since that terrible accident Sunday, O'Donnell says her brother hasn’t had any feeling below his shoulders. The 41-year-old elementary school principal has been under sedation since Tuesday.

"[We want to tell him] how much we love him and how glad we are that he’s here with us," O'Donnell said.

A GoFundMe account for the family is wildly successful, raising more than $113,000 in four days.

The money came from nearly 1,500 different donations -- some from people who don’t even know LaCoste, but are moved by his story.

"That’s a testimonial to how loved Kevin is," Westford Superintendent Bill Olsen said. "We’ve been devastated."

Olsen fought back tears during our interview.

O'Donnel said the overwhelming support has touched their hearts and is making this horrible situation a little more bearable.

"It's been really difficult," she said. "Complete strangers within the community (and out) just coming out to want to offer their services to do anything, like help with renovations with the house when that comes or making a meal, it’s just—it’s unbelievable. It’s humbling."

Lori said there’s just a lot of swelling around her brother’s injury and until that swelling goes down, it’s simply too early to know if the paralysis is permanent.

Cox Media Group