5K on Saturday for injured firefighter

Andy Rosales

A 5-kilometer run to benefit injured firefighter Andy Rosales is scheduled for Saturday at Fort Yuma. Rosales, a Bureau of Indian Affairs firefighter, was seriously injured on the job this summer when his engine rolled en route to a wildfire near Sells, Arizona. According to the Yuma Sun, Rosales’ injuries were more severe than initially thought — his neck was broken in two places and didn’t heal properly despite months of wearing the surgical halo screwed into his skull.

Andy Rosales
Andy Rosales has a surgical halo screwed into his skull to help heal a broken neck.

The 5K run/walk, sponsored by Kwatsan Radio, begins at 7 a.m. Saturday at the Quechan Diabetes Walking Park at Fort Yuma (Winterhaven, California, just north of Yuma, Arizona). The cost is $10 and participants can register Saturday morning. Check-in is at 6:30.

Kenrick Escalanti, president of the nonprofit online radio station, said the family is in need — Rosales cannot work and his pregnant wife is caring for him at home; they have a 5-year-old son.

Supporters hope to sell enough tickets to raise $700 for a medical bed. Rosales is excited about the run and plans to be there to watch. “There’s no point in being down,” he said. Rosales’ wife, Krystle, said he’s in good spirits, but he misses going to the gym. “My husband is an active person. Before he got in the accident, he was running like six miles a day.”
Andy Rosales benefit runHe was injured on June 8 when his wildland fire engine rolled as he and his crew were traveling to the Montezuma Fire near Sells, Arizona; 31-year-old Anthony Polk, another BIA firefighter, was killed in the accident. The crash also injured fellow firefighter John Villicana.

Rosales was initially treated and released, but his boss suggested he seek a second opinion. Doctors at University Medical Center in Tucson found that he’d been walking around all day with a broken neck; they admitted him to the intensive care unit. Earlier this month, x-rays and a CT scan showed that his bones did not align correctly. Rosales will need corrective surgery: a plate, screws, and a cadaver bone inserted through the front of his neck.

Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday and it’s hoped that Rosales will make a full recovery. You can buy tickets [here].

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3 thoughts on “5K on Saturday for injured firefighter”

  1. Is he covered by workmans comp? They should be picking up some of the costs, if not all. I wish him a speedy recovery.

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  2. Godspeed on a full recovery, brother. Is there a way to donate … I will not be able to make the run.

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    1. I couldn’t find a number for the radio station, but I’d bet if you “bought a ticket” for ten bucks, and then didn’t manage to show up for the run, your paypal donation would still get there.

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