Michael Brewer Teen Fentanyl Overdose Victim

On December 24, 2020, 13-year-old Michael Brewer was the victim of fentanyl poisoning – enticed by a Snapchat drug dealer selling counterfeit prescription pills to kids through the Snapchat social media app. Michael is one of thousands of children in the U.S. targeted by predators through Snapchat, and predators rely on Snapchat’s colorful images, games, and game-like features to lure and exploit children. Unfortunately, these predators told Michael he was buying a safe, prescription drug, then gave him a pill containing large doses of Fentanyl, which resulted in Michael's clinical death twice on Christmas Eve of 2020. Michael was found unresponsive, grey, and cold to the touch in the early morning hours and rushed to the emergency room where he was resuscitated and spent several months in the Intensive Care Unit on artificial life support. Michael's doctors at one point suggested to his parents removing life support because he would never see, speak, move, walk, eat, or even breathe on his own again. But his parents refused to give up hope.

Before this, Michael was a thriving teen who made straight-A grades and played football competitively with dreams of one day playing in the NFL. His parents knew his strength and declined to remove life support. Nothing short of a miracle, Michael began to breathe on his own. Six months later he began eating on his own, and a year later he began talking and seeing, though with severe limitations. Michael is still legally blind and is doing everything in his power to gain mobility but needs help to strengthen his recovery chances.

Michael needs full-time physical and occupational therapy, specialized workout equipment to strengthen his muscles and specialized transportation. There also are several new and promising procedures, which might be able to help restore Michael’s vision and improve his speech. Of course, medical insurance is very limited and will only cover ONE physical therapy appointment per week and no specialized treatments or equipment. Michael's recovery will likely cost more than a million dollars out of pocket, but he has the chance to do it and needs help and specialized living arrangements to aid in his recovery.

Funds raised through this GoFundMe will be used for a variety of treatments, living expenses, therapy, speech products, transportation, a vehicle, mobility equipment, home therapy, dedicated therapist expenses, and other recovery-related items. Help Michael defy the odds, which he continues to do. If any additional funds are raised, those will be used to help tell Michael's story and raise awareness to help prevent other children and teens from falling victim to dangerous drug dealers. Others can learn from Michael’s story, and we want to give him the best chance possible to tell it.