Mike in his last days with us!

I am starting this Go Fund Me to help support my very good friends through a very difficult time...

Mike was an active 59 year old hard working man with no known health issues and even recently passed his DOT physical to renew his CDL driver's license.

Mike experienced leg pain and swelling the week of 3/20 and was diagnosed with a blood clot in his left leg on 3/24. He was given a prescription of Xarelto (blood thinner), told to take it easy for the next week, and then sent home later that day. He struggled with what they thought were side effects which included severe migraines headaches, blurry vision , and nausea. He called his doctor after a week to ask for a change in medication so he could go back to work. The doctor asked him to give it more time and to call back in a week if still not working for him. Well he continued with the same symptoms and was exhausted all the time too. On 4/7, his doctor changed his blood thinner to Eliquis which still had similar side effects. Unfortunately Mike then suffered a stroke on Easter Sunday and was taken by ambulance to the ER and then was admitted to the Neuro ICU at Lutheran Medical Center and was there for nearly 2 weeks. They did a CT Scan that night and found two brain clots in his brain.

Apparently people on blood thinners rarely have strokes so the doctors at Lutheran went on a quest as to why he did...on Wed afternoon (4/12) his wife learned he had cancer and it appeared to be all over his body. He now had blood clots in his brain, lungs, and both legs as well. It was touch and go for the next week as they tried to find something that would stop the blood clots from continuing while running more diagnostics tests on the cancer which also included a liver biopsy not once but twice. His abdomen was also rapidly filling up with fluid at this point requiring a paracentesis every 4-5 days. The pain from this is excruciating and since Mike was on a heavy dose of blood thinners, pain meds weren't an option.

When we say a lot can happen in a week…they're not kidding! Mike went from a strong, active healthy man to getting a blood clot in his leg... having a stroke...then being diagnosed with cancer in less than 3 weeks! We are still awaiting some of the test results to know what we are dealing with and if there is anything that can be done. However, Mike will also need to go to a rehabilitation center when he leaves the hospital to start rehabbing from the stroke. He is paralyzed on his right side and speech is very limited. We found a good one not too far from home, and he was moved to Reunion Rehabilitation Center on 4/21 where he will remain for 3-4 weeks. If they can do something for the cancer, he will be working with Cancer Centers of CO in Golden, CO. At this point, we are being given 3-6mos before the cancer takes his life.

Mike lost his income after 2 weeks of sick time and his wife has been using PTO from her job for the last 3 weeks to stay by his bedside. They have a long hard road ahead of them and Mike will unlikely ever return to his previous state pre-stroke. Susan must return to work next week or take an unpaid FMLA leave of absence to continue caring for Mike and taking care of everything else while he recovers. They have limited time left and I want her to have the means to be with him during this time.