The Berglund Family

Hi, our names are Kelli and Debb. Kelli is Sara’s sister, and Debb is Michael’s aunt.

Michael went in for minor surgery in May that lead to numerous complications, which lead to months in and out of the ER over the summer.

Those surgeries lead to infections, which lead to sepsis, which then turned to Septic Shock, which then progressed to even more severe MODS (Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome). His body was shutting down.

He went into Woodwinds Hospital ICU on August 20 where he remained in critical condition for the past two weeks under full sedation.

His organs were beginning to fail. His temperature could not be controlled and remained at 103-104 for weeks. His liver, spleen and kidney were all being negatively impacted by the assault on his body.

The severity of his condition lead to three additional surgeries with the necessity to remove part of his bowel that had died.

After two weeks on the vent they were finally able to extibate him to see if he could breathe on his own. It took several days to successfully get him off the vent.

But after weeks of heavy sedation, he is now is a serious state of ICU Delirium, and is extremely agitated, combative, and hasn’t slept for almost a week, even with sleeping aids, which is exacerbating the delirium. In addition to that, he is experiencing ongoing Petit Mal seizures.

On Saturday he was moved to the U of M Hospital which is a larger hospital with the 24/7 specialists he requires. The hope was to have an MRI Saturday or Sunday to determine if he had a stroke that might be causing the seizures. But his extreme delirium is delaying that until Tuesday.

And though he is off the vent and breathing on his own, his white blood count is still high, his kidneys aren’t working properly, and he is still in very critical condition.

Michael’s wife, Sara, has been at his bedside day and night, and has been under extreme stress navigating this scary journey with her husband of just five years. She has been an amazing pillar of strength despite all her own physical and emotional exhaustion.

But without her or Michael working, and the prognosis of 4-6 months minimum in a transitional care facility for OT and PT once he gets released from the hospital, the financial burden for this young couple is mounting.

And this daunting burden is more stress for them at a time when all their focus should be on trying to get him to a stable physical state again.

So any support you might generously consider would go toward their mortgage and other day-to-day bills, in addition to any ongoing uncovered medical bills.

And if you are unable to financially support this young couple, your prayers and positive thoughts are always welcome as well. We are all so very grateful for any support you can offer their family in this time of need.

Thank you in advance for your kindness, donation, well wishes and prayers. And may your kindness come back to you a hundredfold.

Gratefully Yours,

The Family of Michael and Sara Berglund