Medical Care for Mike - Injured Science Teacher

On the morning of Saturday February 1, Michael Grigsby was on his motorcycle heading to Westy’s Garden Lanes in Garden City to meet up with some of his students from Meridian Middle School. He’d recruited them to join a bowling team from across his various science classes there at Meridian Middle. Some of them had never bowled before, so Mike agreed to coach them.

On his way to meet them for their tournament that Saturday, at the intersection of Five Mile and Lake Hazel, a reckless driver on their cell phone crashed into Mike on his Harley-Davidson, breaking his leg in two places, all of his ribs on one side of his body, and puncturing both of his lungs. Fortunately for him and those of us who care so much for him, first responders arrived at the scene just in time to save his life. He very nearly died.

I’m very happy to report that the medical professionals at St. Alphonsus Hospital have helped put Mike on the road to recovery. However, his injuries required multiple surgeries, an extended hospital stay, and months of upcoming physical therapy, costing him tens of thousands of dollars in medical expenses. While his employment at Meridian Middle provides him with some medical benefits, they won’t nearly cover all of his expenses.

With the assistance of Mrs. Lisa Peterson, the mother of two of the kids from Meridian Middle School on Mike’s bowling team, I am putting together this GoFundMe campaign to solicit the community’s assistance in covering the costs of Mike’s medical bills.

Having earned both his Bachelor’s degree in geology and his Master’s degree in education from Boise State University., Mike has always earned the respect of his professors. As evidenced by the quotes below, he is also loved and deeply admired by his students at Meridian Middle School. Teachers like Mike too frequently go under-appreciated and unacknowledged by our communities at large, even though they are priceless in terms of their service to our children. Please take this opportunity to help Mike and his family during this time of such tremendous need.

These are thoughts of Mike shared by his students:

"Mr. G is what everyone calls him. He is an amazing person. He cares about everyone. He makes Science class fun by doing fun activities. He gives me pointers with bowling and how to get better. He is overall a really good teacher/coach and also a good person. And I am really sad that he is in the hospital."

~Landen

"Although I didn't have Mr. Grigsby as a teacher he is a very amazing bowling coach. He has taught me so much about bowling. Everyone says that he is the nicest person they have met."

~Dylan


"Mr. Grigsby is super supportive and let me join the bowling team late. He always made sure I was learning new ways to bowl, and helped me learn new techniques. He is so nice and he really helped me."

~Gabe

"He's an amazing teacher who loves all of his students. He's a great science teacher who teaches the kids in a way they can understand. He's an awesome bowling teacher who is compassionate and kind and it really sucks that he got in an accident!"

~Lilly


"Mr. Grigsby is one of the kindest teachers I have ever met. He truly cares about each and everyone of his students. He changed my class from another ordinary class to a place where everyone feels welcome."

   ~Emma


   "Although I didn't have Mr. Grigsby as a science teacher, he was my coach for bowling and he taught me in that way. He is a great teacher. Even when I couldn't pay for bowling, he helped me with it. He's very kind and considerate and compassionate. He does everything that he can to never let anyone fail. He always puts others first, but this time we can put him first."

   ~Morgan