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Fundraiser for retired Elgin police sergeant at Danny's Pizza

After four years as primary caregiver for her husband, retired Elgin Police Sgt. Tom Linder, Dawn Linder accepted it was time to get help so her health didn't suffer.

Fueled by a deep love for her spouse of 31 years, it didn't come easy to make that decision, she said. After her lower back went out for the second time in July, friends and family persuaded her to look for full-time care for her husband, who suffered a major stroke in 2012.

"At this point, I just need more help," she said. "Someday there is going to be grandkids, and I don't want to jeopardize my health for my kids and their families. I want to be healthy for them."

Dawn Linder reached out to the Elgin police union, which organized a fundraiser Wednesday at Danny's Pizza near downtown Elgin. Proceeds will go toward caregiving expenses for the family.

"He's a really kind person," said Policemen's Benevolent and Protective Association Unit 54 social chair Beth Sterricker, a detective who worked with Tom Linder for years. "He's always caring and patient."

Besides his dedication to his 27-year law enforcement career, Tom also was devoted to the Boys Scouts and charity work, including missions to Brazil and Costa Rica through Christ Community Church in St. Charles. He also co-founded a Christian-based project to train people to perform dental procedures and provide optometry services in underdeveloped countries.

"He's done so much to give back that I feel like, the least we can do is to try to help when he's in such a position and he can't help himself anymore," Sterricker said.

Progress in the last four years has been minimal, Dawn Linder said. Her husband has to be moved in and out of a wheelchair, and communicates by blinking once for "yes" and twice for "no."

He's had brief stays in the hospital followed by recovery in a nursing home, but his health seems to suffer when he's not at home, where his daughter also helps take care of him, Dawn Linder said.

And yet his spirit has stayed strong throughout, she said. The family recently hired caretaker Amar Tamir of Chicago, whose help seems to have re-energized Tom Linder.

"He's moving his right arm more and more, and he's moving his right leg, like he's trying to exercise," Dawn Linder said. "My hope, and it still is my hope, is that he will recover, knowing that his spirit and his desire and his longing is to pull out of this fully. He wouldn't be here today and doing that if he was giving up on it."

  Amar Tamir helps retired Elgin Police Sgt. Tom Linder with exercises Tuesday at Linder's Elgin home. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com

Fundraiser for Tom Linder

What: A fundraiser for retired Elgin Police Sgt. Tom Linder's medical expenses

When: 6 p.m. Wednesday at Danny's Pizza, 231 Douglas Ave., Elgin

How much: $20 donation for pizza and soda

Other: Live music at 8 p.m. by The Blue Marlins

More: You can also donate at <a href="http://tomlindermedicalfund.webs.com/">tomlindermedicalfund.webs.com</a> or mail a check payable to Dawn Linder in care of the Elgin Police Department, Attention: Elgin PBPA Unit 54, 151 Douglas Ave., Elgin, IL 60120

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