Community, colleagues rallying around injured Mount Prospect firefighter
A Mount Prospect firefighter is waging a battle for his future after an off-duty accident over the weekend left him hospitalized with a severe spinal cord injury.
Firefighter/paramedic Mitch Winkelmann is in intensive care at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where he has undergone one surgery and faces another.
Winkelmann, 25, of Villa Park, was with friends Saturday afternoon in a pontoon boat on the Fox River when he jumped into the water and struck something under the surface that may have been an object or a sandbar, family members said.
"A couple guys jumped into the water. Mitch jumped in on his side, and it must have been on a sandbar, or it must have been at a lower spot," said his stepfather, Joe Wrobel.
His wife, Sarah, remains hopeful about an upcoming surgery expected to help doctors determine a long-term outlook.
"Anyone who knows me personally knows that I am probably one of the most hopeful and positive people there is," she said. "We're an extremely strong couple. We are both stubborn as a bull and both fighters. That's exactly what you need to get through something like this. I'm ready to hold his hand and fight the whole way through."
Sarah said her husband is intubated and unable to speak but is communicating through written notes on an iPad.
"Shortly, he will be able to speak verbally for himself," she said.
A GoFundMe online fundraiser has been established at www.gofundme.com/f/help-mitchs-recovery to support Mitch and Sarah. More than $57,000 had been donated toward a $200,000 goal as of Wednesday afternoon, with some of the largest contributions coming from firefighters unions from Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, Rolling Meadows, Glenview and Wilmette.
Mitch and Sarah met while students at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, where Mitch participated in swimming and water polo. They were married in December and planned a destination ceremony in Mexico in November. Sarah said that will still take place at a date to be determined.
Mitch Winkelmann has been with the Mount Prospect Fire Department for two years. Before that, he was with the Oakbrook Terrace Fire Department.
Sarah said Mount Prospect firefighters immediately stepped up after the accident, sending texts, making phone calls and helping by bringing to the hospital everything from pizza and Gatorade to pillows and blankets, "everything and anything we could ever need to help support us."
Wrobel also praised the firefighters.
"If there are 80 guys on the force, I probably met 70 of them so far," he said. "They come to the hospital every day, bringing food, bringing drink, blankets and pillows for his wife. We have been living in the ICU since Saturday."
Mount Prospect Deputy Fire Chief Tom Wang said Winkelmann is aware of everyone that's around him and was able to squeeze his hand. "When I said goodbye to him, he lifted his arm up," Wang said.
Firefighter/paramedic Matt Takoy, president of Mount Prospect Firefighter's Local 4119, said that in his relatively short tenure, Winkelmann has made a positive impact on the department.
"He is close to all of us," said Takoy, who works in the same station as Winkelmann. "He's an overall good guy, really friendly, nice, hard working."
"At this point, all we can do is hope for the best."