Farm community rallies around injured friend, shares message of road safety

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By PHYLLIS COULTER

FarmWeek

Willy VanWassenhove, a Kankakee County farmer and a newlywed of six months, pulled his truck and hayrack over to the side of the road when he noticed a couple of bales rocking.

And then his life forever changed.

While he was standing between the truck bed and hayrack, a vehicle rear-ended the wagon, pinning him and crushing his legs, according to a fire official on the scene. He has had 12 surgeries as of Oct. 23, including the amputation of his right leg near the knee.

One of his latest procedures was to address a blood clot on his lung. He remains at the University of Chicago Medical Center, battling persistent infections with no idea when he will be able to go home.

“We’ve been through a lot,” said his wife, Lisa, who remains by his side and uses Facebook to keep friends and family posted each step of the way.

“We have a huge community helping us,” she said of friends, family and neighbors doing hog chores, moving hay, selling pork and raising money to help with hospital expenses.

People in their community tell her this is their way of giving back to a family who’s always been willing to help others.

The couple has been together for almost 11 years but just officially tied the knot this spring. Their happy memories of a “beautiful wedding” on March 16 help them as they struggle with their new reality.

He hopes to eventually be fitted for a prosthetic leg but will also have a very long road to recovery. He has started physical therapy to strengthen his upper body, and when ready he will move to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, she said.

The priority of his family and friends is to help take care of the daily tasks on the farm until he recovers. But they are also prioritizing sharing the importance of road safety and awareness of farm vehicles.

VanWassenhove was parked on the side of the road, with flashers on, and displayed a slow-moving vehicle sign when the vehicle crashed into him from behind.

“This accident is a prime example of the importance of farm safety awareness and has impacted families across Illinois and all the way to Kansas,” said Halie Kohl, a youth he inspired through his volunteer work with livestock.

“Willy has played a monumental role in my livestock show career and has been a great, selfless role model to look up to,” said Kohl, an Illinois Farm Bureau Young Leader who wanted to do something to help the farmer who was inducted into the Illinois 4-H Hall of Fame in 2023.

So, she designed a T-shirt featuring an orange, slow moving vehicle sign with the words “Save a Farmer + Slow Down” on the back and “Willy Strong” on the front. She is selling them online at stores.inksoft.com/willystrong until Nov. 1 with $5 from every shirt going help the family.

Many people know the Kankakee County Farm Bureau member, who raises and breeds Berkshire hogs, has a hay business and sells pork, because VanWassenhove was also so active in the dairy and pork industry. He assists youth with their projects across Illinois, is the Kankakee County Fair Livestock Auction Committee chair, and co-superintendent of the Swine Barn. “During the Illinois State Fair, he can be found volunteering to serve ice cream near the butter cow in the dairy building,” Kohl told FarmWeek.

“With the support of the 4-H and farming communities including Cabery, Campus, Cullom, Herscher, Kempton and communities including Ashkum, Chebanse, Clifton and surrounding areas, along with family and friends from several states praying and sending their care and thoughts, I have no doubt my husband will pull through this and come back out on top,” Lisa said. “He’s a fighter.”

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.