Veteran Who 'Fought' Till the End Dies 10 Days After Crash

A fighter until the end, a former Marine corporal from Buffalo Grove died over the weekend after suffering a serious brain injury following a motorcycle crash earlier this month, his family said. Christopher Monsen, 27, was placed in a medically induced coma at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge where he later died. Monsen was riding his motorcycle at about 9:30 p.m. on June 1 onto an entrance ramp to northbound Route 53 from Algonquin Road when we crossed over lanes of traffic and collided with a concrete barrier, the Daily Herald reports.

The Cook County Medical Examiner ruled Monsen's death Sunday morning was due to complications from multiple injuries sustained during the motorcycle crash, according to the Daily Herald.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury, a broken pelvis and seriously injured his leg in the crash, according to a GoFundMe page set up by a family member. Tim Monsen of Buffalo Grove explained in the GoFundMe post that the pressure in Christopher's brain was so severe that it far surpassed the level in which the average person would survive.

Here is more from a GoFundMe update posted following Monsen's death on Sunday:

The pressure in his brain got to be so much that there was no coming back from it. A little help to understand intracranial pressure on a normal day is around 10 and even that might start getting to be a headache 20s is a migraine 30s most people start passing out. 40s starts cutting the blood flow to the brain and 50s kill by severing the brain from the spinal cord. Chris numbers were 60s and his big powerful heart was some how able to pump blood to his brain. It wasn't until his intracranial pressure or ICP was higher than 80s when blood was cut to the brain. After several hours past the 90s he reached as high as 136.

Monsen, who served for the Marine Corps as a combat engineer in Afghanistan, kept fighting right up until the end, a family member wrote on the GoFundMe page.

"Chris couldn't continue the fight, but he showed the world how he fought with every ounce of everything he had," according to the GoFundMe page.

Monsen leaves behind a 22-month-old son, Elliott. The GoFundMe page was set up to bring in funds to cover the costs of Elliott's diapers, wipes and other needs the young boy may have. As of Wednesday afternoon, over $12,000 has been raised.

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Monsen is also remembered as being an avid fisherman and a talented motocross rider.

"Every chance he had, he would be on a pond, lake or river with a fishing pole in his hands. He started racing motocross at the age of four, and won the first race he ever competed in," according to Monsen's obituary. "Chris competed in motocross competitions until the time of his Marines service, which he joined at the age of 19."

A visitation for Monsen will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday at Glueckert Funeral Home, 1520 North Arlington Heights Road in Arlington Heights. A funeral service will be held at 8 p.m. at the funeral home.

A graveside service will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Memory Gardens Cemetery, 2501 E. Euclid Ave. in Arlington Heights,

Photo credit: Glueckert Funeral Home/Monsen's obituary