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Upgraded from critical condition to serious, Jason Wichman's medical condition is improving following a plane crash near Rainy Pass more than a week ago that left both him and the pilot badly injured -- only days after Wichman withdrew from the Iron Dog snowmachine race.
Aaron Bartel raced with Wichman three years in a row as partners in the Iron Dog, and this year would have been their fourth time entering the race.
"It was always a dream of Jason's to go and stand up with a trophy," Bartel said. "It was kind of a bittersweet moment -- I can't wait for him to go look at the trophy."
Only days before the team was to leave the starting chute, Wichman had to withdraw due to an injury. Bartel and his new Team 25 partner, Brad George, went on to claim fourth place in the race, but he says it wasn't the happy ending he had envisioned -- because while Bartel was racing, Wichman was lying in a hospital bed.
The last time Bartel saw Wichman was at Puntilla Lake, where Wichman had flown with attorney and pilot Robert Stone.
"When we were sitting at Puntilla and he flew in there, and (he had) the biggest smile," Bartel said. "He was so happy to be a part of the race even though he thought he wouldn't get to be there."
Wichman had withdrawn from the race prior to its start after a sled crash during a training run. He broke numerous ribs, but he was still insistent that he could make the 2,000-mile trek.
“The first thing he did was go and buy a bandage and wrapped up his chest and said he could race; he was in here trying to lift snowmachines up with broken ribs to show me he could race," Bartel said. "I was like, 'What are you doing? It ain't that much fun -- why would (you) go do that?'" Bartel said.
However, broken ribs are the least of Wichman's injuries now. According to Bartel, Wichman suffered severe head trauma and is in a coma following the Feb. 17 crash. Bartel only got news of the plane crash once he arrived at the Iron Dog checkpoint in McGrath. He says he was ready to drop out of the race, and even booked a flight back to Anchorage to be with Wichman's family at the hospital.
"I was going to leave, and my Iron Dog partner Brad George and a few of our friends there kind of talked to me about it," Bartel said. "And I decided Jason probably wouldn't have wanted to me to quit like that because I didn't want him to quit like that."
Wichman's friends say he isn't the type to give up. They hope that same determination will help him pull through this life-threatening challenge he's now facing.
“They say, 'Yeah, he might be that one in a thousand that pulls through this' -- well, if there's one in a thousand, Jason's going to be that one, and he's that type of guy,” said Nate Haines, Wichman's manager at B.C. Excavating.
Bartel says while the doctors do not have a timeline for Wichman's recovery, family and friends see improvements: things like him moving his toes and feet when asked questions.
"He has his color back, so, and the fact that he has responded to some questions -- that has all of us, his whole family, filled with hope that this will have a happy ending," Bartel said.
To donate to the Wichman family or check on his progress, visit Wichman's recovery website.
Contact Mallory Peebles