LA PALMA : Friends Raise Funds for Paralyzed Man

Efrain Perez used to love playing his guitar. But recently he donated the instrument to the hospital that has been his home since a stroke paralyzed him in September. He had finally come to realize that he will never play it again.

And today, although the 37-year-old can only communicate by feebly pointing to letters on an alphabet board, even that limited movement is a significant gain from his condition after suffering the brain-stem stroke.

“Then he could only move his eyes up and down,” said Jakki Bostrom, Perez’s speech language pathologist at La Palma Intercommunity Hospital.

“Up was yes and down was no,” she said. “But he’s a hard worker and has been able to regain some limited movement in his right arm, and he can now move his head.”

Before his stroke, Perez was an active man, working as a quality control specialist at Fender Musical Instruments Corp. in Brea, and playing in a semiprofessional rock band three nights a week.

“He loved to play in front of people,” said co-worker Adolfo Rodriguez. “He loves music.”

At work, Perez has a reputation of being helpful and never turning down extra work. Much of his wages were sent to his family in Mexico.

Now, with no income and his limited medical insurance, Perez is in the position of having to ask others for help. He needs an electric wheelchair and a computerized communications device, but doesn’t have the $20,000 needed to purchase the equipment.

Friends at work are planning a dance to raise funds, and the hospital is also collecting donations. A spokesman for Fender said the company will donate an electric guitar to the hospital for a fund-raising drawing.

The equipment will enable Perez to live at home with his parents. Otherwise, he’ll have to remain institutionalized, according to hospital officials.

Perez plans to return to Mexico in the next few months.

Anyone wanting information on the fund-raiser can call the hospital at (714) 670-6024.