An Anchorage firefighter badly hurt during training is making progress in a Colorado hospital amid an outpouring of support from Alaska.
29-year-old firefighter Ben Schultz fell from a ladder in June and was in critical condition for a time.
Fire Captain Jason Dolph. said Schultz had been in an unconscious or semi-unconscious state ever since.
That is… until a week ago.
“He said a few words,” Dolph said. “He said, ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ and ‘Hi.’ Over the last week, it’s just been leaps and bounds every day.”
Dolph said it was heartening news to Schultz’s supporters, many of whom were on hand for an Anchorage fundraiser Friday at Elite Sports Performance that raised more than $100,000 for Schultz’s long-term medical care.
“You know, typically people are calling 911 when they’re in crisis and we’re coming to help them,” Dolph said. “And in this particular instance, we put the 911 call out to the community, and said we need your help, it’s one of our own.”
Ben Schultz’s father, Jeff Schultz, said the community answered that call, not just with raising money that will help his son’s recovery, but also by sending photos and well wishes.
The Schultzes have been with Ben for weeks in Colorado.
“Alaska and Alaskans, special place and special people. Makes me proud to live there for sure,” Jeff Schultz said. “Ben’s lived there his whole life; he’s one of Anchorage’s finest. They do good work, and people appreciate that.”
Jeff Schultz said his son continues to fight and improve but still has a tough road ahead of him.
Casey Grove is host of Alaska News Nightly, a general assignment reporter and an editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cgrove@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Casey here.
