Orange County

Fundraiser underway for Central Florida dad who broke his neck while vacationing in Colorado

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A GoFundMe page for a Central Florida man who broke his neck while jumping in a pool in Colorado has so far earned more than $32,000 to help pay for medical expenses, but is still a long way from its $100,000 goal.

Sawyer Bartell, 28, and his wife Sara Bartell were on vacation in Colorado last weekend when he dove into a pool and broke his neck, according to the ABC affiliate in Denver.

His wife told the station he broke his neck in three different vertebrae, and he now has no feeling from his chest down and is only able to move his arms.

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The couple is stuck in Colorado while their two little girls are in Florida with family for what could be months, or possibly longer, the station reported.

According to the GoFundMe page for Sawyer Bartell, as of Sunday, he can tell if his toes are moving up and down, can tell if someone is touching his legs and belly, and he has feelings below his chest line.

The GoFundMe page was started by Bryanna Hipp of Altamonte Springs.

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“Throughout it all, Sawyer has remained his good-spirited self, cracking jokes and making everyone around him smile. When the hospital staff asked him what he goes by, he paused for a minute. “Macho man,” he responded, then started singing part of the song,” the GoFundMe page reads.

The Bartells hope to fly out their daughters so “that the family can remain together while Sawyer undergoes additional surgeries and physical therapy over the next several weeks/months,” according to the fundraising page.

“The road to recovery is going to be a long one but we have all the faith in the world that our “macho man” can get through it. Anything at all helps,” the page reads.

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Donations will go toward “transportation, accommodations for Sara and other family members as they stand by Sawyer’s side, making sure their girls are taken care of while Sawyer is out of work, and all the other costs associated with the road to recovery,” the page reads.

Click here to donate

Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.