Help Pete Connelly & Family - Medical Expenses

We are fundraising for Pete Connelly of Villa Park, IL, who suffered a serious accident in early July and sustained many life-threatening injuries.

Pete is a loving husband, father of 5, soon-to-be grandfather, son, brother, and friend to many. Pete has always brought his full energy and heart into his work and community service, spending decades coaching grade school and high school track and cross country and running a local family roofing business. In recent years, he has also enjoyed staying active with his family through bike riding, pickleball, tennis, and mini golf, keeping that Connelly competitive spirit alive.

Sadly, Pete’s accident in July immediately resulted in a damaged spinal cord, multiple rib and spinal fractures, punctured lung, and internal bleeding. He was airlifted to a level one trauma center and has been on a ventilator and in intensive care ever since. In the past 7+ weeks, he has had to undergo numerous invasive surgeries and procedures for his spine, lungs, and abdomen.

Pete faces a very long road ahead as he recovers and will require extensive care at a rehabilitation hospital once he is finally stable enough to leave the ICU. He continues to suffer daily trials at the hospital as his body fights to manage all he is experiencing. Serious complications have continued to arise, including collapsed lungs, pneumonia, blood clots, and infections. His condition changes rapidly; some days he is able to minimally communicate with his tracheostomy, and other days he has been under sedation to manage his pain and lung function as well as recover from surgeries and procedures. It is often “one step forward and two steps back” in the ICU.

While Pete’s recovery is a daily battle, we pray that he is able to overcome his current challenges to transition to the rehabilitation phase of his healing. The damage to his body has been severe, and we don’t know what the future will hold for his mobility. His injuries will now require high quality care to rebuild and work toward optimal functioning, so that he can have the best quality of life as he moves forward with his growing family.

We kindly ask for donations to help alleviate medical expenses and ongoing care for Pete. As he continues to heal, Pete will need to transition to different medical settings to continue his rehabilitation, which will incur increasing costs to the family. He will not be able to return home for a long time as he is still heavily dependent on extensive medical care, and when he does he will need continued support and modifications for daily living.

Pete’s entire family is incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support and asks for prayers in this difficult time. Pete greatly values his faith and would hope that his suffering could help others turn to prayer and bring them closer to Christ. Anyone who knows Pete knows he is a fighter. He has always leaned on God’s strength for his life and in his interactions with others, and has encouraged them to do the same.

We will continue to post updates here on Pete’s condition, progress, and eventual moves to subsequent rehabilitation facilities. We appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers and ask that they continue!

Thank you and God Bless!!