GoFundMe set up to help Buffalo Grove veteran in coma

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Chris Monsen, 27, of Buffalo Grove, following a motorcycle accident June 1, which has left him in a coma.

At approximately 9:30 p.m., Monsen was riding his motorcycle on the entrance ramp to northbound Route 53 from Algonquin Road when he crossed lanes of traffic and crashed into a concrete barrier dividing express and local lanes, family members said.

Rolling Meadows resident David Walter was returning from work and found Monsen. He called 911, then stayed with him at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge until 2:30 a.m. June 2. Walter was former military and when he discovered Monsen was a former Marine, “he felt that connection,” Monsen's cousin Tim Monsen said.

Chris Monsen initially was able to wiggle his toes and give a thumbs-up; however, he was unconscious by the time family members arrived, Tim Monsen said. He has a traumatic brain injury to his frontal lobe, a broken pelvis and will need his left leg worked on.

Doctors initially placed him in a medically-induced coma to help bring down brain swelling, but it nonetheless reached extremely high levels Tuesday night, his sister Elizabeth Monsen said, and he is currently on life support.

His cousin set up the GoFundMe account to help take care of Chris Monsen's 22-month-old son Elliot and pay medical bills. “Elliot was Chris' world and we were hoping he would pull out of it,” Tim Monsen said. “I don't know now.”

Elliot's mother and father split how much time he spent with them prior to the accident. He is currently with his mother. The campaign has raised $11,921 of its $15,000 goal as of the morning of Tuesday, June 13, and has been shared close to 2,000 times on social media.

Chris Monsen is a former Marine corporal who worked as a combat engineer with the Eighth Engineer Support Battalion and served in Afghanistan. He raced motocross for years in Illinois AMA District 17.