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Warren PD officer partially paralyzed after hunting accident; Family hopes for community support

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WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — More than anything, Holli Kott says that all she wants is for her husband Nick to be able to carry his best friend, their 7-year-old Jack, to bed again.

"Almost every night he would carry Jack up on his shoulders, in a fireman carry," said Holli. "Jack is the most comforted when Nick puts him to bed."

Related Video: Extended interview with Holli Kott after husband injured in hunting accident

Extended interview with Holli Kott after husband injured in hunting accident

Last Saturday Nick Kott, a Warren Police officer, was hunting in Gladwin when he fell about 25 feet from his tree stand.

Completely alone, Holli says he was lying on the ground for 3-to-4 hours, he was finally found because he told his father where he was hunting.

Kott was airlifted to the University of Michigan hospital where he is now in critical condition in their neuro-ICU.

Holli says he is on a ventilator, not able to feel anything from the neck down.

"All I need is his hands, and his arms, and his shoulders, so he can play with Jack," said Holli. "I can’t tell you how much I need the prayers for that."

While the doctors work, Holli says Warren, and other local police departments, have been incredible, stepping in to help her.

She has taken time off work as a third-grade teacher to care for Nick and their son, Jack.

Doctors say that they don't know if he will ever fully recover.

It will be a long time until he can come home, and when he does he'll need a lot of new equipment to get around their two-story home.

"I’m hoping for anything I can get, I’m thinking maybe like a chair lift or something to get him upstairs," said Holli.

Family has started this GoFundMe asking for the community's help.

The number one request from Holli is prayers.

She says that right now, bed times are the hardest part of their days, but she knows in her heart that one day Nick will tuck Jack in once again.

Holli said that it's just like what she tells her third-grade students; "We go over affirmations in the morning and one of the affirmations is, ‘I can do hard things,’ and I am going to show them that their teacher, and their teacher’s husband, can do hard things."