Co-workers support nurse hurt in drunken driving crash

As Marlyss Bartnick came to the realization a drunken driver had just plowed head-on into her car, breaking both legs, her first instinct wasn't to call her husband or even 911.

"She called work to say she wouldn't be in," said Dr. Peter Geittmann, who works with the longtime nurse at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights. "That's the type of dedicated person she is."

In turn, co-workers didn't hesitate to help their longtime friend, who's now dealing with the devastating news that came Tuesday that her right foot will be amputated today at St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford.

Geittmann and his wife, Margie, have led efforts to organize a golf outing and dinner at Inverness Golf Club on Monday, Sept. 21, to benefit the Marlyss Bartnick Fund.

Chris Bartnick said his wife was driving from their farm in Harvard to work at 6 a.m. Aug. 3 when a driver swerved into her lane on Route 20 in the Marengo area. McHenry County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Karen Groves said a 23-year-old Belvidere man was charged with DUI and failure to provide proof of insurance.

Bartnick had to be airlifted to the hospital, where she underwent several surgeries to repair multiple broken bones. Her left foot was reconstructed with screws and pins and rods were put in both legs.

"She's gone through a number," Chris Bartnick said. "She's upset because this person was intoxicated at 6 a.m., but she'll be fine. She's very strong-willed and in good shape."

Rehabilitation will be that much more difficult, Dr. Geittmann said, because Bartnick won't have a working weight-bearing leg for a long time.

Bartnick will take some comfort in her many animals. She and her husband care for a dozen horses, a potbelly pig, a donkey, birds and more than 15 dogs.

"We take in a lot of abuse cases," said Chris Bartnick, who's keeping news of the golf outing a secret from his wife for now. "She'd probably put the kibosh on it."

Margie Geittmann, who's worked with Bartnick at Northwest Community since 1981, said different parts of the hospital have agreed to sponsor holes for $1,000 each. She's not surprised at the response.

"Marlyss never complains about anything and is always making everyone laugh," she said. "It's really the least we can do."