ELLSWORTH – An Ellsworth boy who was badly burned the day before Halloween when another Ellsworth High School student allegedly set his costume on fire is recuperating but faces a long road to recovery, according to his grandfather.

Donald Awalt, 14, is having difficulty healing from the first-, second- and third-degree burns he suffered Oct. 30 because he is a diabetic, Earl “Buzzy” Awalt said Sunday. Besides being Donald’s grandfather, Earl Awalt is also the boy’s legal guardian.

“He comes along a little bit every day,” Awalt said of his grandson during a telephone interview from Donald’s Boston hospital room. “Diabetics don’t heal as fast as normal people.”

Donald has been at Brigham and Women’s Hospital since another student allegedly set his military sniper costume on fire at a school assembly during the high school’s annual Spook Day festivities. Student witnesses have said Awalt was consumed in a “ball of flame” in the bleachers of the school gym before he leapt to the floor and rolled around while other students beat out the flames with parts of their Halloween costumes.

Earl Awalt said he hasn’t had much time to reflect about the incident and has not developed any opinions one way or the other about Lucas White, the 15-year-old Otis boy who is accused of setting his grandson on fire. He said that Donald was aware of everything that was going on around him before and after he caught on fire and even later as he was flown by helicopter to Boston.

“That kid tried to set him on fire three times,” Awalt said. “Donald pushed him away twice.”

Donald was sleeping Sunday and unavailable for comment, but in an Associated Press story he said that on the third try White set fire to his pants.

“I was just thinking ‘put it out,'” the boy said, according to AP.

White was arrested a few hours after the incident but the next Monday was allowed to go home with his parents after Ellsworth District Court Judge Bernard Staples determined he should be released in their custody. White appeared in court last Friday and formally denied the charges of arson, elevated aggravated assault and aggravated assault that have been filed against him.

A juvenile trial for White has been scheduled in Ellsworth District Court for Jan. 9.

Donald Awalt was burned on his back and buttocks, but the burns to the back of his legs are the most serious, according to his grandfather. Doctors at the hospital have performed skin graft operations on Donald to try to improve the boy’s long-term prospects for being able to get around, Earl Awalt said. The boy has difficulty standing and has been trying to walk from his hospital bed to a nearby chair, he said.

“He has a lot of discomfort, but he’s a tough young fellow,” Awalt said. “It’s unbelievable what he is going through. He doesn’t give in.”

Donald spent six months working on his Halloween costume, researching sniper outfits on the Internet and ordering its components online, Earl Awalt said. Contrary to previous media reports, he said, leaves and dried hair spray were not part of his grandson’s costume.

“He was proud of it,” Awalt said of the outfit. “He was real tickled he got to wear it to school that day.”

Donald has dreamed about joining the military one day, his grandfather said, even though he has known his diabetes likely would prevent him from being able to join. Donald’s other interests, which include basketball, four-wheeling and kayaking, will have to wait until he is allowed to return home, he said.

How long it might be before Donald gets to go back to Ellsworth is unknown, the grandfather said.

“He was having his best year in school since he’s been in school,” Awalt said. “He was really enjoying it.”

According to Awalt, his grandson and his family have been treated well by hospital staff and others. His wife, Lorraine Awalt, had her purse snatched outside the hospital Nov. 2, and since then the family has been skittish about walking back and forth – especially at night – from the hospital to the hospitality house down the street where they are staying.

Firefighters at the neighborhood fire station heard about the incident, he said, and now transport the Awalts to and from the hospital daily.

Awalt and Donald’s other relatives have been at the boy’s bedside virtually nonstop since they got to Boston, the grandfather said.

“He’s never been left alone,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.