Dear family and friends,

On August 12th, my dad suffered one of the most severe head injuries his doctors have ever seen. He had to be rushed to the hospital by helicopter for an emergency brain surgery for a brain bleed and to remove half of his skull.

After the surgery, he was in a deep coma and entirely unresponsive until August 26th. This was the day he opened his eyes for the first time. On August 31st, he started following some commands. He would open his eyes throughout the day, squeeze my mom’s hand intentionally, nod when asked simple questions. We started to see life reappear in his body. On September 3rd, they put my dad’s skull back in. He is currently experiencing major effects of the surgery and the last couple days have been difficult. He is extremely swollen and unable to move or open his eyes.

There are days we see progress and days that are slower. My mom has been by my dad’s side in CO since the accident. Her voice and presence, as well as our daily FaceTime calls, are what’s keeping my dad going.

I cannot comprehend my dad’s strength- the way his mind and body have been fighting all of the unfathomable obstacles. He taught me the values of service and empathy. He picked me up from a train station every time I came home from college to visit. He spent countless afternoons rescuing baby squirrels or birds from gutters and sewers. He picks flowers during his runs and brings them home to my mom. He shovels our neighbors’ driveways every single day in the winter before leaving to work at 5:50am. He stays and works during the summer whenever we go visit family in Poland. He is one for others. He is the foundation of our family.

We are facing challenges with insurance coverage and medical expenses- for instance, the emergency helicopter ride to the hospital and future helicopter ride to transfer my dad back to IL are not covered.

My mom is not able to return to work in IL. My sister and I are unable to see our dad due to him being stuck in CO and COVID-19 restrictions. I simply cannot imagine going through medical school or life without him.

We are asking anyone that is able to please donate what they can. If you are not able, please do not feel pressured to donate. You may share this post and/or keep my dad, Zenon Rutkowski, in your prayers. We couldn’t thank you all enough in advance. May God bless you.