Auction set for June 13 to benefit accident victim

Avi Davidson An auction sponsored by the National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF) is slated for June 13 to benefit Avi Davidson, the 17- year-old from Tampa severely disabled in an accident involving a high voltage wire last October.

The auction, to be held at Egypt Shrine in Tampa, will begin with a preview of items at 11 a.m. and run until 4 p.m.

Event organizers have put out a call for donations of new or “gently used” items. Included on the wish list are games, books, jewelry, collectibles, sports memorabilia, toys, furniture, artwork, CDs, DVDs and gift certificates. They also are seeking donations for the concession area including food, condiments and paper goods.

The proceeds will go to help defray the ongoing expenses associated with caring for Avi since the accident. Paralyzed from the mid-chest down, he also suffered severe kidney damage, burns over 45 percent of his body and had to have part of his left arm amputated.

The teen had climbed atop a utility pole to photograph the sunset. While taking the picture, he lost his balance and reached out with his left hand, unknowingly grabbing onto a high voltage wire. He was electrocuted and fell 35 feet to the ground.

Michelle Winarsky, auction chair, said the positive attitude of Avi and his family — father Jeff Davidson, mother Lea Merrill Davidson-Bern and step-father Robert Bern; three sisters and two brothers — has been inspiring.

“They don’t want this to define who he is,” she said. “What he can do he does.”

Avi now sings with a choir at the Carrollwood Cultural Center, although someone must turn the pages of music for him. Among his other immediate goals are to return to high school, rejoin his Boy Scout troop and be able to attend camp in New Jersey.

Winarsky also said expenses are astronomical.

“NTAF estimates that out-of-pocket expenses the first year will be about $250,000,” she said, “and it will cost the family an estimated $2.5 million over Avi’s lifetime.”

Progress is slow, procedure- by- procedure, Winarsky said. Avi recently was hospitalized for three weeks to have the electricity exit wound on his lower back closed.

In addition to auction items, monetary contributions also are welcome. Send checks to the NTAF Southeast Spinal Cord Injury Fund, designated for Avi.

To make a donation, contact Michelle Winarsky, (813) 936-8022; Barbara Freedland, (813) 920-8459; or Karen Borden, (813) 784-0464.

The Egypt Shrine is located at 4050 Dana Shores Drive.