Loving Mike Luber: The road to healing

To know Michael Luber, is to love him. And for those of us who love him, he really needs our love and support right now, a lot more than just words of encouragement. The following read is going to be hard, but for those who want to know and help it's time Luber's story is told so that we all can step up and get him back to life, and to music, and to being able to smile and laugh and live.

Last year, Mike had open heart surgery to replace a valve (as many of you may know). Several months after the heart surgery, just as he was nearly recovered enough to begin working towards physical activities again, he developed a hernia (we think from a nasty fall on his home stairs) underneath the "zipper" from his surgery. Due to the fact that he lives in TN (one of 12-14 states that did not opt in for federal health insurance help), Mike falls into the worst category for medical coverage: he doesn't make enough money to pay for any, but he doesn't qualify to get coverage through medicaid. Since the hernia wasn't "life-threatening" at the time, they wouldn't schedule surgery to fix it.

For months, Mike's hernia situation deteriorated but there was nothing he could do about it. In June, he went to the emergency room for the hernia, and his condition was serious enough that there was finally a local program identified and willing to accept Mike to cover his hernia surgery.

By early August Mike was pretty much house bound, and unable to do much activity at all. He hasn't been able to work due to his health since before the open heart surgery at the end of 2020.

The hernia surgery got scheduled, but at his visit to the anesthesiologist in September, they discovered a heart murmur. He was referred to schedule a cardiologist visit to determine what was going on, and the hernia surgery was postponed.

Last week, when Mike finally made it to the cardiologist, they pretty immediately sent him to the ER and admitted to the hospital in Knoxville.

Here's what we know as of this morning (November 15).

The valve they put in his heart last year has failed. His heart is operating at about 30%. They are scheduled to test for determining if there is an infection in the valve/his heart. We are praying that it is the valve alone and not an infection.

Mike's body is not making blood properly. He is scheduled for a bone marrow biopsy today.

All of Mike's major organs are under differing stresses, including his liver, kidney, spleen, and lungs.

His blood pressure also is a serious issue and cannot stay up due to all of these things.

Mike Luber is one of my dearest friends. I know we all love him in many ways. His smile, his laugh, his kindness, his zeal for life in the moment, his talent, his thoughtfulness ~ I cannot put into words how special this man is, but I have accepted putting into words all of these scary things happening because he cannot, and it's needed. He NEEDS us, now more than he ever has. He won't ask for help, but I have convinced him to let me ask on his behalf.

The money is to help pay his basic living starting immediately, to keep his home taken care of while he is at the hospital and when he can come home to recover from all of the procedures needed to help him heal. Beyond that, it's to help with the quickly mounting medical bills that are going to start piling up. I'm sure the amount I set this fundraiser at won't be a drop in that bucket, and if any of you are capable and willing of recurring monetary help in the coming months, please reach out and we can help set that up directly as well. The plus side to Knoxville for him is that the cost of living is fairly low compared to many other places in the US, so keeping him afloat is pretty reasonable compared to many other scenarios.

We should know more within the next few days on which way the doctors want to tackle which problems, and in which order. I will be updating this fundraiser as information comes to help everyone keep in the loop. I would ask that you don't send Mike a million questions because he's not up to that, but if you can send him messages of encouragement and things to make him smile and remember that he is loved, that would be appreciated. He can talk on the phone some, but breathing can be labored and he's not always up for talking, so messages are great. I know Mike has a lot more friends than I know (many of you much longer than I have known him), so if you would like to speak directly you can message me (Laurie Duckett on FB, springduckett at gmail dot com, 865/216/4282) and I will do my best to answer your questions and help facilitate whatever is needed.

Please donate what you can as you can, and share on all the social medias. Most importantly, pray and send all your best love and energies Mike's way.

Love,

Spring