Family, friends help Wauconda couple after serious accident

William Kornfeind enjoyed riding his motorcycle, working in the expansive garden with his longtime girlfriend, Robin Cuttone, and operating his Round Lake Beach car wash business.

But life changed Sept. 6, 2013, when a fall would cause a traumatic spinal cord injury that would leave him a quadriplegic.

Kornfeind was standing on an extension ladder while clearing some algae off the garage roof at his Wauconda home. He's unsure why, but the ladder gave way. When he fell, his feet got caught in the rungs and he was suspended briefly before falling on his head. The fall happened about 8 a.m. while Robin was at work.

When she returned home at 5:40 p.m., she found Kornfeind face down on the driveway surrounded by blood. Cuttone remembers he was badly sunburn from laying on the blacktop all day. He told her to call 911 and to remove the bar off his neck. She told him there was nothing on his neck.

He was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center where his injuries included a broken sternum, severed artery in his neck and a crushed c4 vertebrae — the main cause of his paralysis. He was airlifted to University of Illinois at Chicago Hospital, where he underwent surgery and needed a tracheotomy to help his breathing.

The journey included several other hospitals to address respiratory problems and to begin rehabilitation. During the turmoil, the couple recalls there was some joy too — after living together for 18 years, they were married in the hospital April 4, 2014.

He returned home June 6, nine months after the accident.

While Kornfeind is able to move his neck and has some feeling in his upper chest and shoulder, he has no movement from the neck down. He requires specialized medical equipment to function daily, and a special van is used to transport him to doctor appointments.

Care is provided around the clock by Cuttone, who lost her job at the Illinois Secretary of State office. Because Kornfeind spends much time in bed, she must set her alarm clock every two hours so she can move him to avoid blood clots and bedsores. A special lift is used to help move him into the bathroom.

“He's good as he's going to get, but we're going to learn how to do things better,” she said. “We're still learning.”

However, it's also a story of the help and support provided by family, friends and strangers who have rallied around the couple.

Kornfeind's brother, Jim, who works for the village of Algonquin and is a McHenry firefighter, runs the car wash business. A group of motorcyclists Kornfeind rode with called the Boyz from Illinois volunteered time to make modifications to his home, including installing hardwood floors, building ramps to enter the house and expanding the bathroom so Kornfeind could get inside easier.

“We've had so many people come help us. They have shown us that they care,” Cuttone said.

Sandra Holmstrom, Kornfeind's sister, also set up a fundraising page on the website www.youcaring.com to help the couple pay mounting medical bills. So far, more than $6,600 has been contributed.

“At this point, I would do anything for my brother,” said Holmstrom, who lives in Bartlett. “I feel helpless.”

Cuttone said they hope the funds will help pay medical bills Kornfeind worries about and provide ways to give her husband some independence. One way they've found is a motorized wheelchair that's computerized and operated by head movement.

Another technology the couple hopes may benefit Kornfeind is a computer system called Tobi. It would allow him to use his eyes to control devices such as the TV, the phone or lights. The cost of the computer system is $12,000.

“I want him to be able to call 911 or to be able to change his own channel, anything to make him more independent,” Cuttone said. “Anything that makes him more independent makes it a little easier on me.”

While the injury has changed their lives, the couple still finds joy. When the weather has been nice, they have gone outside as she works in the garden. Inside, Kornfeind spends time on his iPad using a mouthpiece stylus. And, he smiles as he looks at the gifts he received from his favorite team, the Chicago Blackhawks. Hanging on the wall is a jersey from Patrick Sharp, and he recalls fondly a letter written by Corey Crawford.

Cuttone admits the future scares her. But she knows it is best not to worry. What they try to do is keep learning and stay happy.

“I want to face the day and do the best we can each day, to laugh and not to take anything too seriously. It's too easy to go on a downward spiral,” Cuttone said. “People can choose to be happy. I choose to be happy.”