Community rallies around Kettwicks as son battles COVID-19

Social distancing didn’t stop the community of Buffalo Center from coming together last Tuesday night, as hundreds of people showed their support for a Buffalo Center native battling the coronavirus.

Troy Kettwick has been hospitalized in St. Paul, MN since March 24, with a confirmed case of COVID-19. His condition is critical but stable, as he is hooked up to a ventilator and is being kept heavily sedated. Troy’s parents, Mike and Carole Kettwick, live just outside of Buffalo Center, and they have been unable to visit Troy in the hospital due to the highly contagious nature of the disease.

The Kettwicks have two other sons, Drew and Ross, who wanted to do something to boost their parents’ spirits in these strange times when friends can’t even get together to offer a supportive hug. They decided last Monday to reach out to the community on Facebook to organize a “surprise dusk drive by” at their parents’ house for the following day.

Word spread quickly over the next 24 hours, as people kept the event a secret from Mike and Carole. As dusk arrived on Tuesday, more than 265 vehicles flooded into Bison Field, which was the staging ground before the caravan made the trip out to the Kettwicks’ acreage. Many people made signs or banners for their vehicles to express their support. Fire and ambulance departments from the local communities also came out for the event.

Drew, who lives in Oreno, MN, and Ross, who lives in West Des Moines, both came home to their parents’ place on Tuesday and found an excuse to get them outside by having a bonfire.

When the long line of vehicles started coming down their road, it was a total surprise for Mike and Carole.

“It was just amazing,” said Carole. “What a wonderful community and show of support.”

Carole says it was like the scene at the end of the movie “Field of Dreams”, where a caravan of cars drives to the field at night.

While they were surprised by the event, Carole says it doesn’t surprise her that there are so many supportive people in Buffalo Center and the surrounding area. “In this community, we just seem to do that for each other,” said Carole.

She said as people drove by, they would yell their support and prayers for Troy. Many vehicles were decorated with flags for Iowa State, where Troy attended college, or the Green Bay Packers – one of Troy’s favorite teams.

“It was just really uplifting,” said Carole. “So many people are praying for him.”

It took about 45 minutes for all the cars to pass by the Kettwicks’ home. Prior to leaving Buffalo Center, the caravan drove through the parking lot at Timely Mission Nursing Home, where Troy’s grandma Deloris Kettwick lives.

Drew says he thinks his parents were sort of in disbelief when the cars started coming down their road. “My parents don’t get that volume of traffic out on the gravel road,” said Drew. Once the cars got closer, the brothers explained to their parents what was going on. “That’s when it hit them how big it was,” said Drew.

“I was kind of in awe about how many people showed up to be part of it,” said Drew. “But on the other hand, I was not all that surprised, because I know the town of Buffalo Center and know there are a lot of good people who live there.”

Drew says a lot of people volunteered to make the event such a success, including those who helped line up the cars, the emergency service personnel who led the procession, and the drone pilots who captured video of the drive. “People came together really quick,” said Drew.

Carole says it’s hard not being able to visit Troy in the hospital. She says he’s been improving some, but it’s slow going. “They tell us this will be a long, slow process,” said Carole. “They have no way of knowing exactly how long he’s going to be on a ventilator. They can only take it one day at a time.”

She says Troy’s fiancé, Rachel Rolling, patches them in on phone calls with Troy’s doctors, and it’s nice to be able to talk to them firsthand. Rachel is in self-quarantine as a precaution but is in good health.

The event for Troy has been featured in various media outlets, including on KCCI News 8 out of Des Moines. Ross has posted a “thank you” video from the family on Facebook, featuring photos and drone video taken of the event.