Altered approach has Gales family closer to accessible home
It has been nearly 20 months since Devon Gales and his family sat behind the podium at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall to be given the promise of an accessible home.
From that moment, the process has been far from smooth. As soon as the Galeses received some positive news, a setback would come shortly thereafter.
One Georgia alumnus is ready to change that and see construction begin in the coming months.
Jim Butterworth, a Macon native and UGA class of 1988 graduate, was one of many in attendance when the former Southern wide receiver was motionless on the ground on Sept. 26, 2015, after a collision with former Georgia place-kicker Marshall Morgan.
Gales would later learn that he had fractured his C6 vertebrae, would be paralyzed from the waist down and would be in for a lengthy rehab process at the Shepherd Center if he hopes to walk again.
“It was a very sobering moment, and it had an impact on me,” Butterworth said. “I felt like I needed to be involved somehow, but didn’t know exactly how.”
As Gales began his recovery process at the world-renowned spinal-cord injury hospital in Atlanta, Butterworth arranged a meeting with the family to build the foundation of a relationship. But as the fundraising efforts for the accessible home were in the hands of other parties, there wasn’t much more he could do.
Butterworth donated money and kept an eye on the efforts affiliated with the Triumph Over Tragedy foundation and the University of Georgia’s text-to-donate campaign, but he had noticed a lull in progress.
In search of a solidified update on the situation, Butterworth crossed paths with James Shepherd, co-founder of the Shepherd Center, where Gales continues to rehab at the Beyond Therapy program.
“It hasn’t really gotten going the way we hoped it would. We just haven’t raised enough money,” he told Butterworth as they looked upon a Georgia football practice in September.
With the efforts ongoing for the extended amount of time, it was alarming for Butterworth that fundraising had stalled. Georgia raised around $125,000 for the home when it promoted the cause at the February basketball game and the G-Day spring game in April.
Butterworth understood that the athletic association’s efforts with the Gales family may have not been at the forefront due to the Bulldogs’ football team national-title-contending season. So, Butterworth wanted to take action and asked Bryant Gantt, Georgia’s director of player programs and a lead advocate for the Gales’ efforts, if he could be of significant assistance.
Gantt happily agreed to make Butterworth a part of the team, and the former director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency used his government ties to get to work. He met with a variety of people, ranging from former UGA football head coach Ray Goff to Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, to receive guidance on how to lead the efforts, gain greater perspective on the situation and build a foundation for fundraising.
Butterworth has teamed up with John Parker — a retiree who has been involved in Georgia’s athletic association— along with the University of Georgia to develop an altered plan building the home. Originally, the land wouldn’t be purchased and the process of building wouldn’t begin until the $500,000 was raised, but the need for the home has opened the door for a more aggressive approach.
The Gales family has opted to start the building as soon as land can be found in the Gwinnett County area, and be dependent on donations and assistance from builders and other organizations to reach the goal as construction progresses. The efforts have been reinvigorated and contributions can be made at buildfordevon.com, and each donation is eligible for a 501c3 tax deduction.
“This will be the focal point of the effort, not only to donate money so people will learn what has happened,” Butterworth said. “We are also planning on Devon to have a blog to update people on how he’s doing and be transparent about it.”
Along with the fundraising, an issue lies in finding a suitable space of land to build the home. The Galeses are in search of 2 to 3 acres of land in order to give Devon enough space to comfortably enter and exit doorways and have a full sense of accessibility.
Devon will also be joined by his five other family members: his mom Tish, dad Donnie, younger brother Dalen, younger sister Teah, and dog Bella. While the exact location of the home is yet to be decided, it’s for certain that Georgia will be their permanent home.
After once being a tough decision to remain in the Peach State or return to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Tish and Devon realized that the need for the Shepherd Center is imperative. Devon continues to receive treatment three times per week, and he continues to make strides.
It had been many months of financial uncertainty for the Gales’ accessible home, but the push from Butterworth, Parker and a number of organizations bring along a sense of assurance.
“It has been a long time coming,” Tish said. “It feels like it has been forever, but we just had to wait for the right people to pull together to get it done.”
The Galeses once lived in a small apartment in Atlanta as Devon’s treatment was just miles away, but they’ve now settled in a home in the Lawrenceville area. The family was once divided as Devon lived with his mom and sister in Georgia while the rest of the family lived back in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Dalen has now moved in from Louisiana, and all of the school-aged children are in the Brookwood cluster of the Gwinnett County Public School system. Being in a favorable area, Tish is hopeful to find land close to where she currently resides, but has looked at different areas in Gwinnett and Barrow counties.
Regardless of where the family ends up, the progress of an accessible home also ensures that Donnie will rejoin the family. As an employee of UPS, he has had to stay in Baton Rouge and plans to transfer to its headquarters in Atlanta when construction is finished.
Donnie has the opportunity to see his wife and children on special occasions such as holidays and birthdays, but all other communication is done virtually. Tish now knows “what it’s like to be a single mom,” and the countdown is on for the long-awaited reunion.
“It’s a relief (to know the house will definitely be built), and I could say it’s now off the bucket list,” Devon said. “It’s tough being away with my dad and not being with my whole family. I feel like having this house would allow us to come back as one.
With the long-term move to Georgia now apparent, those close to Devon have pushed him to continue his academic career. He was a therapeutic recreation major at Southern before the injury, and tried to take online classes while continuing daily therapy sessions.
Devon said he lacked discipline to stay caught up on school work without being in the classroom, so Georgia director of sports medicine Ron Courson provided an opportunity to change that.
“We need to get you in classes, Devon. What would you think about coming to Georgia?” Devon recalled Courson telling him at a gathering in September.
The desire is apparent from the Gales family to get Devon enrolled in classes at Georgia, but little progress had been made from that point as football season was underway shortly thereafter. It seems unlikely that Devon can start classes in the spring as he has yet to engage in the application process and has to see which credits will transfer over.
Devon had logged about 60 credit hours at Southern and will explore changing his studies — potentially communications or something resembling therapeutic recreation. Tish and Donnie are looking to continue conversations with Courson and Gantt to enroll Devon in a summer course.
For Devon, it would nearly be a dream scenario.
“It’s an honor for me to potentially go to a school I wasn’t attending at first, after the love and support I’ve given since I’ve been here,” Devon said. “I would be right in the middle of the Bulldog nation.”
In order for things to go as planned for Devon and his academic future in Athens, it becomes imperative to the Galeses for the fundraising process to stay afloat.
Along with individual donations, Butterworth has received interest from local builders to assist on the efforts — whether it be labor or supplies. Butterworth and his newly formed team doesn’t yet have a set date for construction to begin, but believes there’s “no reason” for it not to start taking shape around February or March.
“It’s not letting me go,” Butterworth said. “It’s on my heart and it feels like something that is supposed to happen, and it’s going to. I am 100 percent sure it will happen, and we’re not going to stop until it’s done.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 12:24 PM with the headline "Altered approach has Gales family closer to accessible home."