Bears Fan Delirious For The Wrong Reason

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Dec 23, 2008 7:40PM

We know the Bears pulled off a pretty fantastic victory last night, but one fan who was in attendance at Soldier Field learned how dangerous Chicago's cold winter can be the hard way. Chicago Police officer Femi Odugbesan found Jozef Kowalkowski in a delirious state wandering around in front of the Shedd Aquarium after Kowalkowski called police just after 1 a.m., saying "I am very cold." Officer Odugbesan is credited with saving Kowalkowski's life.

“He kept calling back and I found him right in front of the Shedd Aquarium. He was walking towards me," Odugbesan said, adding that Kowalkowski was wearing all black clothing and a coat with a hood, but had no gloves and no hat.

“He just kept saying he couldn’t feel his hands and he said he was thirsty. He said he felt like his chest was going to explode,’’ Odugbesan said.

“I had some Coke in my car and I gave that to him. He was still kind of delirious. I put him in the back of the squad car. He said he was walking around looking for his car. I said you live in Chicago you should know better,’’ according to the officer.

“I put him in the back of the squad car and told him he was going to be OK and to just relax. [Chicago Fire Department] Ambulance 41 came and got him,’’ according to Odugbesan, who said Kowalkowski was taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center.

Kowalkowski suffered some frostbite to one hand and may have been suffering from hypothermia as well.

Photo by Michael DaKidd