Achieving goals and working hard have always been an important part of Garett Wittrock’s life.

He’s going to need those strong qualities now more than ever...but he’s ready to face it head on.

It’s also going to take a lot of help and support from his family, friends...and community.

Wittrock is the son of Jason and Dawn Wittrock and Jeanne and Logan Toepfer.

He suffered a major spinal cord injury in a recent diving accident, prompting expensive life-saving procedures, a long hospital stay and an even longer stint in a rehabilitation center.

All of that leads to stacks of hospital bills that can prove overwhelming for a young man who just started a family.

Two funds have been set up to help defray some of the many expenses the family faces in the future - The Garett Wittrock Benefit Fund at BancFirst in Kingfisher and a GiveSendGo account on social media.

The fund at BancFirst was established by Garett’s uncle, Jeff Wittrock, who said the goal is to help the young family with the many expenses they will incur on the long road of recovery.

“We wanted to get the word out to the community that we’re accepting donations on Garett’s behalf to take care of the family for the foreseeable future,” Jeff said.

The GiveSendGo fund set up by his mother will help offset some of the expenses family members will incur as they spend time in Colorado by Garett’s side on his rehabilitation journey, as well as any needs Garett may have while in therapy.

At 22 years old, Wittrock had recently purchased his first home for his girlfriend, Dejanna Harjo and their 3-month-old daughter, Aurora, when the tragic accident occurred.

On June 23, the Wittrock family was enjoying a family cookout and pool party at Jason and Dawn’s home in Okarche.

After diving in the pool, Garett resurfaced, but was floating facedown.

At first, family members thought he was joking around, but quickly realized something was terribly wrong.

His brother, Noah, quickly turned him over and determined Garret couldn’t move.

Family members maintained Garett’s spinal alignment in the pool until Kingfisher EMS arrived on the scene and he was then quickly transported to OU Medical Center by a medical helicopter.

“It went from a beautiful evening where we were all having so much fun to just tragedy,” Dawn said.

She added that the quick work of local responders wasn’t lost on the family at such a difficult time.

“We would like to thank the responders from dispatch to Air Evac for their speedy response,” she said.

At the hospital, it was discovered that Garett had suffered a C5/6 spinal cord injury and surgery was performed to repair and stabilize it.

Garett was also put on a ventilator to supplement his breathing and has been accepted for therapy at Craig Neuro-Rehabilitation Center in Englewood, Colo., a suburb of Denver.

Initially Garret had little to no feeling from mid-chest down, Jeanne said, but he has begun to get some feeling back and the goal is to get his respirations a little bit stronger, then airbus him to the Craig Rehab facility.

Although he has some shoulder and elbow flexion, Garett does not have the fine motor skills involved in grasping and using his hands, which is one of the things they will work on during rehabilitation, she said. Many factors will play into the final prognosis as Garett begins the rehabilitation process. “We are waiting for healing and the swelling to subside,” Dawn said. “Rehabilitation will determine the final prognosis, because we’re not going to put God in a box.” With a long journey ahead, Jeanne said, Garett has his good days and bad days, but his spirits are good. “They put in a speaking valve (on the tracheotomy) and it’s really good to hear his voice…especially his laugh,” she said. Garett is expected to be at the rehabilitation center for 90 days and Dejanna, Aurora, Jeanne, Logan and Noah plan to travel to Colorado and be by Garett’s side throughout the process. The premier facility specializes in spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. “Craig does a lot of extensive training (for caregivers) as well and wants the family involved in therapy, showing us how to work with him and help him,” Jeanne said.

Ready to get to work, Jeanne said that Garett is working towards his goal to leave for Denver (tentatively scheduled for this week) and he’s got a good mindset about it.

“The first thing Garret said he wants to work on in therapy is to figure out how to hold his daughter,” Jeanne added.

The family is thankful for any donations, Dawn said, “but even if people can’t donate, all the prayers are appreciated because they’re just as important as money.”

Donations can be made to the Garett Wittrock Benefi t Fund at BancFirst (124 N. Main St., Kingfisher) and online at “GiveSendGo” to the Garett Wittrock and Family Expenses fund.

A Facebook page - Garett Wittrock’s SCI Injury & Rehab Progress - has also been set up for those interested in supporting Garett and following his progress.