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Little Elm Fire Department raising money to help injured CareFlite medic
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
The Little Elm Fire Department is helping gather donations for renovations to the home of a Frisco resident injured in the crash of a CareFlite helicopter near Eastland in September.
CareFlite medic Rhett Draehn sustained serious injuries during the crash and will be unable to walk when he returns home to continue rehabilitation on an outpatient basis.
“He's not going to be able to get upstairs and take a shower,” said Brian Roach, Little Elm fire marshal, who has been helping spread the word about the effort. “So we're trying to put in a full bath downstairs for him.”
“He's donated his funds and services to do the work,” said Todd Jamison, Little Elm EMS Division chief, who is helping spearhead the effort. “We're trying to come up with the funding needed to buy the materials.”
The effort is a joint operation between the Little Elm and Frisco fire departments, both of which have a connection with Draehn. In his work at CareFlite, he was based out of Fire Station #4 in Frisco and worked numerous scenes in Little Elm alongside fire department personnel.
Jamison said that Draehn hopes to be released from the Plano hospital he's currently at within a week and that they are hoping to complete the renovations to his home within a two-week time frame. About half of the needed funds have already been raised.
During his stay at the hospital, Draehn was visited by Dallas Stars alumni Bob Bassen and Al May. Draehn is an avid hockey fan and a member of the Guns and Hoses Public Safety Hockey Team, which is comprised of local police officers and firefighters.
After undergoing several operations following the crash, Draehn is in the midst of an intensive rehabilitation program and is looking at a likely recovery time of more than a year. He will be confined to a hospital bed when he returns home.
Donation inquiries can be directed to Jamison via email at tjamison@littleelm.org. PayPal accounts have been established to collect funds, which can also be dropped off directly or mailed to a local fire station.
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