After a beating leaves a retiree in critical condition, kindness from strangers

Don Nelson, the retired audio engineer who was beaten by a group of four men who broke into his tiny Mountain View  log cabin earlier this month, remains in critical condition in an Anchorage hospital.

Police say four men suspected to have violently robbed two other people in Mountain View on Sept. 16 arrived at Nelson's 425-square-foot home around 11 p.m. and broke windows to get inside, where they attacked him. Friends say he was hit in the head with a hammer and has not regained consciousness since the  incident. 

Police are still investigating but no arrests have been made, according to Lt. John McKinnon of the Anchorage Police Department. Nelson's injuries have prevented officers from interviewing him, McKinnon said.

But an unexpected sliver of goodness has come from an ugly crime: Ever since the attack, people have been coming forward to help the quiet, 72-year-old retired audio engineer. People as close as neighbors and as far away as a stranger in Wisconsin.

Since Nelson's story appeared in Alaska Dispatch News, volunteers with the Alaska Cat Adoption Team have visited the neighborhood to make sure the retired audio engineer's beloved cats are being cared for.

The Cook Inlet Housing Authority will repair his windows and door damaged in the attack once Nelson is well enough to give permission, said public relations director Sezy Gerow-Hanson. Neighbors have said they will assist. There's even been an offer to help with the roof on his 1940s cabin.

And there's Rob Gusky of Appleton, Wisconsin, who has no personal connection to Nelson but nonetheless raised more than $1,300 through GoFundMe for him.

In an email, Gusky said he stumbled on the story about Nelson online while reading about bicycling and bear encounters in Alaska.

"No one should ever have to go through what he did," he wrote.

Gusky decided to start a GoFundMe campaign to raise $1,500 to help Nelson with his expenses.

"But mainly to show him that there are people who care," he said. 

The fundraiser has garnered $1,360 of the $1,500 goal. So far, 22 people — including many Alaskans — have donated.

Gusky said he plans to turn over the donations to Nelson's former employer, Alaska Public Media, which will then give the money to Nelson or his family members if he does not recover.

"(Gusky) felt like to make sure people knew it wasn't a scam it should come to us, which makes sense," said Patsy Parker of Alaska Public Media.

Employees of Alaska Public Media who knew Nelson during his 10 years with the organization have been going to visit him in the hospital. When a man from Wisconsin contacted her to say he'd started a fundraiser, Parker said she was shocked.

"I went, 'Oh my gosh, there's some really wonderful people out there.' "