Four weeks ago, Mike Glemser was checked into the gang by top division ice hockey team Starbulls Rosenheim, now he is paraplegic. The association has now launched a fundraiser.
It was a terrible accident in the Upper Bavarian ice hockey derby between SC Riessersee and the Starbulls Rosenheim. On February 3, Rosenheim’s Mike Glemser fell headfirst into the rink after a rather harmless check and lay motionless on the ice. Only now has his club announced how serious the injury is.
Rosenheim board member Thaller immediately thought “that’s harder”
“I only saw the game on the Internet, but I was immediately aware of the scene – wow, that’s harder,” says CEO Marcus Thaller of the situation in an interview with BR24Sport. Mike Glemser unhappily fell headfirst into the gang, the body was first crushed, then he lay motionless on the ice.
His teammate Steffen Tölzer, former national defender with almost 800 games in the German Ice Hockey League, had only one thought: “We all kind of hoped that he would move. We only found out after the game what the ‘phase’ is.” . Glemser is already in a special clinic in Murnau.
Paralyzed from the neck down
For four weeks there were no statements about the case, only the worst fears – and they have now come true. “Mike is paralyzed from the neck down, he’s on a lung machine, he can’t breathe independently. In the upper area, only the biceps stand is now, means no hands, no wrists, nothing works in the leg area, everything is completely paralyzed “, confirms father Kenneth Glemser on the BR24Sport microphone.
And yet there is hope that Mike Glemser can become more mobile again. He himself is a fighter not only on the ice, but now also in the hospital bed, says teammate Steffen Tölzer, who visits him regularly: “I find it fascinating how he is fighting through there now.” In some situations, Glemser has already said to him: “Tölzi, I’d like to do strength training with you again every day!” Tölzer adds, “What he’s going through right now is hell, you wouldn’t wish that on anyone. I can only say : Bite, boy! Fight, fight, fight!”
Glemser still on the ventilator
Not only Mike Glemser is ready for this, but also the entire family: “The first step is that the skeleton is kept mobile and that we get him off the ventilator,” says his father. If that works, it might be possible with many therapies to rebuild Glemser’s muscles to such an extent that he can use a wheelchair. But such therapies cost a lot of money, as does the conversion of the apartment to make it suitable for the disabled, wheelchairs and so on.
Fundraising campaign with a target of 250,000 euros
The 25-year-old Glemser cannot live on a pension yet, as a player in the premier league you don’t earn a lot. That’s why the Starbulls Rosenheim set up a donation account on their homepage. “The initial goal is now 250,000 euros in order to be able to offer Mike the best possible support, both residentially and medically,” explains CEO Marcus Thaller.
Where the money goes and for what purpose it is used should be regularly and transparently visible on the homepage. The club fears that the total medical costs will amount to between three quarters and one million euros.
