Ill. Officer Back on the Force After Catastrophic Crash, 26 Surgeries

Dec. 22--On June 12, 2005, it appeared Jack LeMaster's career as a police officer was over and that his life would never be the same.

While off duty and on his way for a fishing trip in the Fox Lake area, the former Gurnee officer's Honda Civic was struck on Route 59 by a car involved in an accident ahead of him. His vehicle was destroyed -- and his body almost was too.

"I knew I was going to die," LeMaster said about the seconds after the collision.

His legs were crushed, and he was unable to exit what was left of the car. He had to be removed by rescue personnel before being flown from the scene to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge in a Flight for Life helicopter.

"It took 45 minutes to cut me out of the car," said LeMaster, adding that during that time he learned his condition began to worsen and his injuries could be fatal. He said he remembers telling a Fox Lake firefighter/paramedic, Dave Burgdorf, that he had two young children and needed to survive. Burgdorf held his hand the entire time and told him he would make it through.

LeMaster was in a coma for 30 days, and an assessment of his injuries was devastating.

He had a broken neck and back, and all of his ribs, front and back, were broken. His right ankle was shattered, as were parts of his hips and pelvis. He had a broken tibia, located in the lower leg, which caused major nerve damage.

LeMaster said he also "had a heart attack, traumatic brain injury and both of my lungs collapsed."

After awakening from the coma and beginning a grueling series of surgeries and rehabilitation, he was told he never would walk again.

That assessment proved premature, as LeMaster fought his way back through 26 reconstructive surgeries and years of physical therapy. The light at the end of the tunnel proved very bright.

LeMaster is back in uniform as a full-time patrolman with the Lakemoor Police Department, a position he took three years ago.

While he continues physical therapy at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, he walks with no cane. In addition to his return to law enforcement, LeMaster serves as a patient advocate for Flight for Life and the Air Medical Industry.

"I can do everything," he said of his physical abilities. "I did it for my kids."

His two sons -- Joey, 13, and Nick, 11,, were so young at the time he had to get reacquainted with them after he was well enough for them to visit. That, LeMaster said, was impetus for his determination to fight his way back.

Because his youngest son was just 7 months old at the time of the accident, LeMaster said he missed milestones such as his first words and steps. He also was afraid that Joey, a 2-year-old at the time, no longer would look to him as his "go-to guy."

Luckily, the ordeal has made him appreciate his relationship with his children even more.

"I'm a very hands-on father, I do everything with my kids in my off time," LeMaster said. "My kids are my life. I've never taken them for granted one bit."

LeMaster said "being a cop was a childhood dream," and he has been able to live it twice after being hired by Lakemoor. He previously had retired on good terms with the Gurnee Police Department and said the bonds he has with the people there will last forever.

Likewise, he said his appreciation for his surgeons and therapists has been life-changing. He sent a long letter of thanks to the staff at the Advocate Medical Group stating that "as a survivor" he wanted to let them know "the outcome of your success."

"Your work is very important to so many. Your work is unknown to most," LeMaster wrote. "You need to be reminded by your current and former patients how each and every interaction makes an impact. I thank you and my family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts for what you do."

Scott Beckman, a physical therapist at Condell, called LeMaster's comeback "heroic," and said he possesses an "indomitable spirit."

"Despite Jack's challenges, never once have I heard him complain about his life situation. He is a hero. It has been my honor to treat him and to know him," Beckman said in the fall when LeMaster was named an honorary captain for the Chicago Bulls during a game at the United Center as part of a program initiated by Advocate Health Care and the Bulls.

"Part of the reason I can do what I do now is that I'm just very active," LeMaster said. "I just continued to strive to get better, even when they said I'd never walk again."

Burgdorf, the Fox Lake paramedic who held LeMaster's hand while he was being cut out of the car, said that when he saw LeMaster being loaded on the helicopter, Burgdorf didn't think he would see him again. Burgdorf said he was unsure whether the injured man would survive, and that because of health record laws, paramedics rarely know what happens with the people they assist.

"What made it more heartfelt, I found out he was a Gurnee cop later," Burgdorf said.

But a surprise awaited both LeMaster and Burgdorf.

After LeMaster was back on his feet, officials set up a surprise party at the Fox Lake Fire Department, and the two saw one another again for the first time since the crash.

"I didn't recognize him," Burgdorf said. "I was floored."

The two remain friends, and Burgdorf said that every year on the anniversary of the crash, LeMaster sends him a picture of himself with his kids.

jrnewton@tribpub.com

Copyright 2015 - Lake County News-Sun, Gurnee, Ill.