Frisco Police Community Rallies To Help Sick Officer
FRISCO (CBSDFW.COM) - The Frisco police community is rallying to raise funds for a nine-year Frisco PD veteran who is fighting H1N1.
Officer Mike "Gonzo" Gonzalez is a competitive powerlifter in his 30's. Yet, his good shape wasn't able to tackle the nasty flu strain.
Gonzalez has been in the hospital for more than two months, mostly in a medical induced coma. Gonzalez is single, CBS 11 News is told, and does not have close family nearby.
Several of Gonzalez's fellow officers and their spouses, along with the FPOA, are holding various fundraisers to help him out with medical bills and what could be a very long recovery process.
"With his expected length of recovery and continued medical bills, these fundraising efforts are the least we can do for Officer Gonzalez, who does so much for others," says Kelly Galbraith, fundraising co-organizer and spouse of a Frisco police officer.
Fundraising for the officer will continue through April via a pancake benefit breakfast, the selling of wristbands that say "Team Gonzo" and collected donations.
"Of all the things you go and worry about a car accident or a shooting but the flu is least worry for most police officer's spouses so this caught everybody off guard," Sarah Elliott, fellow fundraising co-organizer and spouse of a Frisco police officer.
The pancake benefit breakfast will be held at the Applebee's in Frisco and Little Elm from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on April 5. Tickets are $10 each.
Wristbands and pancake benefit breakfast tickets can be purchased at these locations and times
-Saturday, March 15th from 10:00am to 2:00pm at Cutie Patootie, 3245 W. Main Street #215
-Sunday, March 16th from 12:00pm to 5:00pm at Toyota Stadium, 9200 World Cup Way (East parking lot)
Donations can also be made to the address below, with checks payable to "FPOA Charities" with the memo "Officer Gonzalez Recovery Fund":
FPOA Charities
P.O. Box 2263
Frisco, TX 75034
Additionally, anyone can donate to the officer through the FPOA by going to www.fpoacharities.org and selecting the "Officer Gonzalez Recovery Fund" from the drop-down list.
One woman explained the situation of the officer like "seeing Superman in the hospital."
A few of Gonzalez's weightlifting friends told CBS 11 that they didn't take the flu or flu shots seriously until seeing their friend in the hospital. Now they vow to get a shot every season.
The Collin County Health Department has reported 11 flu-related deaths this season.
email: mschmitt@cbs.com
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