Tim and Connie's Expenses

Many of you who are viewing this fundraiser know Tim DeChant personally. As you know Tim is a hard worker and despite his age still works daily. For those of you who may not know Tim at all or very little. He is 68 years old and has been doing construction for over 30 years. When he was 18 he joined the United States Marine Corp. He served in Vietnam with distinction and is a Purple Heart recipient. He is a Volunteer Firefighter at Drummond Fire & Rescue, a cook at the American Legion in Cable, WI, and a reserve deputy for Bayfield County Sheriff's Department. He is a selfless man who provides for his family and friends. Over the years he has helped countless numbers of people in need in many ways and never asks for money or favors in return. Many of the people he has helped no one has ever heard about since he doesn't share those stories with anyone. We all have been receiving numerous phone calls from people who are concerned about him and felt the need to share stories about their experiences with Tim and stories about the times he helped them. There are so many more that we are unaware of. We would love to hear about your own experience with Tim! On Thursday May 25th while at work Tim had an accident. He lost his balance while triming the shingles on a roof he had just finished and fell off of the edge. He fell about 10 feet and landed on the peak of the roof below, then rolled down and off that roof, struck his face on the top scaffolding plank next to the building, and then fell another 12 feet to the ground on his back. He was initially seen at the Emergency room at Hayward hospital where they did some scans of his whole body. They found a break high in his neck, 6 broken ribs mid back (3 on each side of the spine), and a fractured vertebrae in his lower back. He was transported to St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth, MN where he is currently staying. We believe he will need surgery to remove loose bone particles in his lower back. He will be in a plastic cast from his waist to his head and will need months to heal along with rehabilitation. He will not be able to work for quite some time therefore will not have any income for the duration of his recovery. Unfortunately the bills do not take time off and will continue to come in. The family is making trips daily at the moment from Drummond to Duluth which is also consuming a lot of the finances. Tim would personally never ask for help or money from anyone however this time the family is in need. So many of you have already helped out with funds and other things and we greatly appreciate all that everyone has done. We do not want anyone to feel obligated to help. If you wish to help however, we are grateful for anything you provide! If there is any other help you would like to offer feel free to contact Connie. She will be home nights and most mornings and in Duluth during the day. We all thank you for the help and support that everyone has given. This will be a long slow process but with so many people willing to help we will all get through this together!