Marcus Ruehmann's traumatic brain injury

Hello donors,

Thank you for taking the time to come here to help support Marcus.

On June 1st Marcus and a couple of friends were skateboarding at a park when Marcus fell and hit his head. He was airlifted to a trauma hospital in IL, where doctors determined that Marcus had a fractured skull which had caused a severe subdural hematoma, multiple seizures and cardiac arrest. Marcus was immediately treated for these injuries and spent the next ten days in a coma. During that time, the pressure in Marcus's skull from the swelling of his injuries forced the doctors to perform cranial surgery on him, removing a portion of skull bone from the right side of his skull to allow the brain to swell as needed. The cranial surgery was the last effort the doctors could provide to save Marcus's life. The fight for his life was now highly critical, and his chances were meager. Marcus then spent the following 21 days in the ICU under 24-hour care, where he then had multiple additional surgeries to keep his body up and running while his brain was recovering.

Marcus has always been strong-willed and independent. "Quit" has never been a word in his vocabulary. Due to his character and robust nature, and primarily because of all the love and prayers from family, friends and strangers, Marcus is pulling through and is our miracle child. Thank you all so very much!

Doctors are amazed at his recovery. However, he still has a long road ahead with many challenges, multiple types of therapies as well as physical conditioning. Marcus will also have to undergo another surgery later this year to re-insert the missing piece of his skull that was removed during the cranial surgery. As this surgery will also come with its own conditions, it will require additional expenses, time and recovery.

Marcus has a few passions in his life, starting with his family. He enjoys spending time with his little sister and taking her swimming, fishing, and having tea parties. He is her 'Big Bro.' He also loves spending time with his Mom; they cook, craft, listen to music, and laugh for hours. Second is his love for the outdoors. Marcus has been hunting and fishing all his life, following along with his Dad since he was little. If Marcus is nowhere to be found, you will find him on a lake, river, ocean fishing, or hiking a trail somewhere wild. While part of the year he spends here at home in Illinois, the other part is doing what he has always dreamed of...Being a fishing guide in a remote part of the Alaskan wilderness. He has been doing this since his 18th birthday, and it is the single most enormous passion of his life. He tells stories of his experiences in Alaska and the friends he has made there. You can hear his genuine love and passion in his words.

His passions in life are only matched by the size of his heart. While Marcus enjoys many things, he also sets aside time to work on getting a college degree, taking care of household chores, working at home as an assistant controlled burn technician, and always having time to mentor a younger boy with special needs. Marcus is always the first to lend a helping hand and has never been shy of hard work. Now he has to do his job to get better and recover from this injury, and he is taking it a day at a time with significant improvements along the way. While Marcus continues his recovery, he has made his goal to return home to his family, friends and loved ones. He will continue his healing path and get strong and healthy enough to return to his passion of being a fishing guide in the remote Alaskan wilderness.

In the future, he also wants to be an advocate and speaker for helmet safety. Marcus would like to use his experience to inform others and children about the importance of wearing helmets during dangerous activities, sports or work. Your donations will help pay for hospital bills, medical expenses, travel expenses for additional therapies, and any other items that Marcus may require for his recovery now or in the future. Thank you for your time and donation to helping Marcus return to his life, family, friends and loved ones.

Thank you, and God Bless.