Every first responder knows that life can change in an instant.

Warren police officer Nick Kott was off duty, hunting with his dad on their property in Gladwin on the afternoon of Nov. 16 when he slipped and fell out of a tree blind. When he did not return to his cabin at the expected time, his father walked to the area his son said he would be and found him conscious and motionless on the ground where he had been for more than an hour.

He was rushed to Midland Hospital, then airlifted to University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor where he is currently in critical condition in Neuro-ICU.

According to his wife, Holli, who spoke to the media during a press conference Thursday, Kott suffered a serious neck injury and is on a ventilator and has no feeling from his neck down. The doctors have told her it is too early to determine if he will regain movement of his limbs.

“He was able to mouth some words to me today which is the first time we’ve been able to communicate,” Holli said. “I’m asking for prayers and I’m asking specifically for prayers for Nick to regain use of his hands and arms so he can play with his son who is his best friend.

“I know this is going to be a very, very, very long road.”

Holli said she and her husband met when they were neighbors and their dogs took a liking to each other and liked to play together. They still live in that same Waterford Township neighborhood in a two-story house Holli said will need major renovations in order for her husband to be able to come home.

“My number one thing I want Nick to be able to do,” Holli said through tears, “is to tuck his best friend in at night and we have a two-story house.

“If we could just get Jack up the stairs to tuck in his baby boy, our 7-year-old son Jack, I need your help and support to do that.”

Holli praised the Gladwin firefighters and police who transported her husband to Midland Hospital, doctors and nurses at both Midland and University of Michigan hospitals, and Warren police for their help during this time of crisis.

“This has been an absolute nightmare that I can’t wake up out of,” said Holli. “I’m only getting through this because of the love and support from the Warren Police Department and the surrounding police departments.”

Holli said one police officer came and fixed a broken backyard swing for Jack while others are coming to clean gutters and do the fall cleanup tasks that Nick usually handles.

Kott joined the Warren Police Department in 2011.

“This department has been his life; they are his brothers and his sisters and they have proved that this week,” Holli said.

Kott’s family will need help paying for medical bills and making home renovations to accommodate Nick when he gets home. A GoFundMe has raised $29,585 toward a $40,000 goal. Donations can be made at gofund.me/6fa96708.

“As police officers, we are good at responding to other people’s emergencies, but it’s a gut check when it is one of your own,” said Warren Lt. John Gajewski.