Cpl. John Peck, the Antioch marine who was severely injured in Afghanistan last month, remains in a fight for his life against a bacterial infection at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. Peck's family rushed to see him the evening of June 9, and have been at his side ever since.
Lisa Krutyholowa, Peck's mother, said her son "is basically caught in a Catch-22" because he cannot receive the antibiotics needed to fight off the infection due to his weakened condition. "When he took a turn for the worse, that's when we said 'That's it, we are going'," Lisa Krutyholowa said. Peck, a 2004 graduate of Antioch High School, is in a coma in the intensive care unit at the Bethesda Naval Hospital, having lost all four limbs after being treated for injuries resulting from a roadside bomb on May 24 in Afghanistan.
The family continues to have hope as Peck, 24, is scheduled to have his 13th surgery Tuesday morning.
"It's a very aggressive mold," said Zenio Krutyholowa, Peck's stepfather. "Doctors said that other cases that have had it have been fatal. They are trying to do everything they can do."
Lisa Krutyholowa described aspergillus, the mold causing the abdominal infection, as being commonly found in the dirt of Afghanistan. News of Peck's condition has spread across the country. Donations from as far as Alabama, California and New York have been flooding into the "Cpl. John Peck Fund" to support his family, said Dennis Crosby, Antioch trustee.
The fund, which was started by the village on June 10, had received "thousands" of dollars in donations as of Monday, Crosby said.
"I am having people call me all day saying I've got your name in an e-mail and are asking what they should do to help," Crobsy added. Zenio Krutyholowa said he has been in touch with Crosby and said the community support has been great for the family. Crosby cited a number of people who have offered their services, such as a Chicago police officer who sent a request to the entire department asking for help and a Frontier Airlines worker offering his airline passes to the family. An Antioch architect is also offering to redesign the family's Antioch home to be more accessible for Peck.
"There is terrible stress on the body of the soldier and on his family," Crosby said. "This has become kind of an emotional commitment to help this family."
Peck was awarded his second purple heart last week. The first was presented to him following his original tour in Iraq after he was wounded by a roadside bomb about three years ago.
Donations for the "CPL John Peck Fund" can be deposited in his name at The State Bank of the Lakes, at 440 Lake St. in Antioch.
