A Lake Forest police officer remains in a coma after falling while visiting family in Nicaragua, an injury that left him with a traumatic brain injury and triggered a frantic, community-wide push to fly him home. Filip Czarnecki, a four-year veteran of the Lake Forest Police Department who grew up in Chicago and attended Lane Tech High School, was medically evacuated from Nicaragua to Chicago on September 8 and transferred into the care of Northwestern Medicine.
Czarnecki was first treated in a hospital intensive care unit in León, Nicaragua, and was placed on a ventilator as doctors worked to stabilize him, according to FOX 32 Chicago. Before his flight to Chicago, he was moved from that León ICU to a better-equipped hospital in Managua as an intermediate step meant to stabilize him for the international transit, according to Patch.
The station's report notes that Northwestern Medicine is now providing specialized care for Czarnecki, and his family expects access to neurological specialists, better scans, and more advanced treatment for his brain injury than what was available in Nicaragua. His family said his recovery is only beginning.
A GoFundMe Built by Fellow Officers
Getting Czarnecki home was not simply a matter of booking a flight. A GoFundMe campaign helped fund a specialized fixed-wing air ambulance and cover medical expenses, and per the same account, donors raised nearly $200,000 in just five days. The fundraiser was organized by fellow Lake Forest police officer Paul Daizovi, working directly with Czarnecki's wife, Nikki Dezonno, and set a $220,000 goal to cover the air transport, international ICU bills, and family travel costs, according to the GoFundMe campaign page.
The costs behind that goal are steep but not unusual for this kind of emergency. Fixed-wing air ambulance evacuations back to the United States typically start around $15,000 and frequently exceed $100,000 to $200,000, expenses rarely covered by standard U.S. health insurance or Medicare without supplemental international policies, according to the U.S. Department of State. International air ambulance providers typically demand full payment or financial guarantees before a flight is even dispatched, which helps explain why the fundraising had to move so fast.
A Small Department Rallies
Czarnecki's family thanked donors and supporters, saying the community and strangers helped secure his medical evacuation. The Lake Forest Police Department praised the response from residents, businesses, community organizations, and others, and said it will continue keeping Czarnecki and his family in its thoughts and prayers.
That the response came together so quickly is less surprising given the size of the department. Lake Forest police operate with an authorized strength of just 40 sworn officers serving a community of roughly 20,000 residents, led by Chief John Burke, according to the City of Lake Forest. In a force that small, a colleague's medical crisis touches nearly everyone on the roster.
Congressional Help Clears the Way
Getting Czarnecki out of Nicaragua also required intervention beyond the fundraising. U.S. Representative Brad Schneider, whose 10th Congressional District includes Lake Forest and Lake County, said his office worked with the U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua and the U.S. State Department to help with Czarnecki's return home, and he personally contacted the Lake Forest police chief. Paperwork obstacles were cleared before Czarnecki's scheduled return, per the same reporting.
Schneider's office has previously stepped in on international matters affecting North Shore constituents, a role Hoodline has noted extends to consular emergencies. The Department of State's travel advisory for Nicaragua warns that local hospitals across the country may be unable to assist in severe emergencies, making evacuation to the United States the primary option for critical conditions — a limitation that shaped much of the urgency around Czarnecki's case.
A Familiar Pattern for Families Abroad
Czarnecki's ordeal echoes another case Hoodline covered just months earlier. In April, an 11-year-old boy with head trauma was airlifted from Nicaragua to St. Louis following a fatal tourist truck crash in Tola, with that family also relying on a GoFundMe campaign that ultimately surpassed $300,000.
Czarnecki's case now moves into a longer chapter. He remains in a coma as Northwestern's medical team continues providing critical care, and his family says his recovery is only beginning. Before his injury, Czarnecki had built a record as an active patrol officer, including serving as the sole testifying officer in a September 2023 traffic stop that was later reviewed by Illinois's Second District Appellate Court. He also studied at Western Illinois University, where he placed second in the school's 2018 Leland Essay Contest for a paper titled Hardship & Triumph, according to Western Illinois University records.
