Help Willie with recovery expenses

Hi my name is Holly, My husband Dan and I and all of the loved ones are fundraising for Willy. Dan and I are very close family friends and have known Willie for a very long time we we're along on the ride when this unexpected accident occurred. Please read his story below and consider donating if at all possible.

 

 

On September 11th 2021 Willie and his close family and friends gathered for a veterans atv charity ride to honor the victims of 911 and those who have served in the military and also the local VFW of Bruno, MN.

The day started out like any other normal day. Our group headed to the starting point to begin registration for the atv charity ride while we were there we enjoyed some good laughs and conversations, met some new atv riders and enjoyed the ceremony from the local VFW!

The clock hit 11:00am and we were ready to hit the trails kick back and enjoy God's beautiful countryside! The ride started out mild we hit a few dirt trails/roads that led to some pretty muddy,rocky trails that then turned into some thicker woods, cruising along at about 15 miles per hour enjoying the mud of course to what we all thought was going to be a heck of a fun day when the unexpected happened...... Willie was riding along with his nephew Nate when all of a sudden from what we can gather a unexpected tree branch fell from above crashing down on top of the machine coming into the cab of the side by side. Nate and both Willie remember throwing brush out of their way to continue driving when Willie then grabbed his neck yelling to Nate "help me its in my neck! (This was a 1.5" branch impelled in his neck)

A group of us got a call on the walkies that Willy was injured and they needed help NOW in a panic here we are stranded in the middle of no where with no service and needing medical attention ASAP for Willie.

We then frantically went into trying to figure out how to get him out of there as quick as possible without making the situation worse for him. A couple friends in our group thankfully had a GPS built in their machine and was able to plow through the trails (cautiously watching for other drivers) to get to service to be able to call 911.

 

Now the waiting game..... paramedics finally arrived and we were able to direct them back to where he was on the trails, thankfully we had nurses and retired emts along on the ride with us to assist until EMTS could get to him 1 of those being apart of our group.. during that lifelink was able to find a spot to land near by and the paramedics were able to venture their way back to Willie. We then stayed off the trails and waited for Willie up by lifelink to allow room for paramedics to be able to do what they needed to do to make sure willie had all the right attention he needed. We then lost connection on the walkies and that's when things got worse as we were unable to get updates on what was going on.....

1hr passed 2hrs passed and creeping up to the 3rd hr we finally got word they were heading up!! lifelink was prepared ready and waiting for him when the ambulance arrived out of the woods. He was then airlifted to Duluth for surgery where the surgeons quickly made a plan to remove the branch.

Dr's told family members that the branch went in the side of his neck through his thyroid and punctured his lung and the branch was impelled 6" almost 7" inside him just narrowly missing the main artery in his neck and coming fractions of a inch from his heart. Surgery went well and Willie was able to come out of surgery to be met by his children which I know meant the world to him! Willie was then transferred to the ICU for recovery where he continues to heals.

We want to send a HUGE thank you to all of those who were their to help during this freak accident and the prayers! If you could all continue prayers for a fast recovery and prayers to the family and loved ones for comfort and healing that would be greatly appreciated as well.

 

 

Willie is 50 yrs old from Cambridge MN he enjoys mudding, cars, Volleyball leagues, and also served on the volunteer rescue team for isanti MN from 2007 to 2012. Willy is the type of man to give his shirt off his back for anyone. Willie recently just started a new job and will now be out of work for a couple months for recovery he has had a recent loss of a loved one back in June that has effected him beyond emotionally and is still trying to recover from that as well and now this.... we are wanting to come together to show him that he is not alone and has a army of community behind him! Again if possible please consider donating and thank you all!

 

Thank you from all of his family & friends. #teamwillie