Michael's Life Memorial Fund
Donation protected
My friends Michael and Carmen are urgently in need of funds to pay medical bills and living expenses due to being displaced from their home.
Michael was hospitalized for costly emergency surgical procedures while in Belize. After doctors did all they could, Michael and Carmen were forced to leave the island and Michael's art gallery that they had dreamed of for so long, in order to return to Colorado for Michael's life-saving care. Some of Michael's treatment is not covered by insurance. Please help them through this medical and financial crisis. Any amount that you donate is received with gratitude. Your prayers or thoughts for recovery and restoration are also appreciated.
Much Love and Gratitude,
H. Burkes
Below, read Carmen's account of the health and medical issues they have faced over the past several months:
It's hard to ask for help. It takes strength and courage to reach out to others, especially when people told us how brave we've been to face the fear and go for our biggest dream.
We have already found how caring people are...friends, family, and those we don't even know. We hope and pray that we will come through this crisis and be in a position to help others who find themselves facing unexpected mountains on the path of their dreams. We believe it so.
January 21, 2015
When we took the leap of faith on Jan 1, 2012 into the biggest dream of our life of living on the small Caribbean island that we'd loved and visited for nearly two decades, we never imagined that on Jan 3rd, three years later, we'd be getting Michael on an emergency flight from the island to a hospital and then transporting him in an ambulance through the streets of Belize City.
Michael was under the care of our only doctor here on the island for a few months. The doctor left mid-December to attend advanced medical training in the States. The nearest hospital is about 40 miles away in Belize City. Water taxis and planes do not provide service between 5pm to 6am. There were nights of fear and absolute helplessness with Michael's crying out in pain and no one to call and nothing to be done except pray with all our heart and soul and every ounce of faith.
Michael has been ill for over 5 months with abdominal pain which increased over the past two months (Nov/Dec) with rapid weight loss. He had a CT scan in December which revealed narrowing in two areas of his colon. Before we could get him in for a colonoscopy, though, the pain became severe and his lower left back "muscle" that had given him trouble for over 15 years, causing him to give up his window cleaning business in Colorado a few years ago, suddenly knotted up in excruciating pain wrapping around his side to his groin. The muscle swelled up and I applied sports cream, camphor, and coconut oil to no avail.
He finally agreed that he needed to get further medical help...a scary thing not knowing what we were facing in a Third World country, even at a private hospital. I knew things were really bad when he asked me to take him to the hospital, because he has not been hospitalized nor even had to go to a doctor for anything other than a stitch or something like that in over 30 years.
He was in too much pain and too weak to make the hour long water taxi ride with even the slightest of waves. We had to fly him to Belize Medical Associates over the weekend, a private hospital with 12 rooms in Belize City. He had lost weight so fast over the previous several weeks that he only weighed 100 pounds by then...it seemed to drop daily. They admitted him to the hospital for the colon pain, administered TPN (intravenous caloric nutrition and vitamins), and scheduled a colonoscopy first thing Monday morning..
During the first night in the hospital he cried out because of the back pain. The nurse called the doctor on staff. When he asked the doctor to give him something for the back muscle pain, the doctor felt his back and asked to see the CT scan images from three weeks prior. He discovered something the gastrointestinal doctor had overlooked....he had a large cyst on his left kidney. Dr. C., a kidney specialist, was called in. They did another scan of just that area. What Michael thought was back pain all these years, with chiropractic treatment, was actually a cyst growing. It had become so large and full of fluid that it was in danger of rupture, possibly within days, according to the doctor. He was scheduled for emergency surgery Monday evening.
Monday morning, an ambulance transported Michael to a private gastroenterology clinic and Dr G., who had come highly recommended to us. Myself and a hospital R.N. accompanied him to the clinic. She and I watched the entire procedure on a monitor as the doctor performed the colonoscopy. He explained what he saw along the way. Symptoms of Crohn's flare-up, after 30 years in remission, and the two narrowings in his large intestine. One of them was so tight that it was a wonder anything was passing through. The doctor used instruments to break through and stretch them to normal size. It appeared he would be okay.
Monday evening, during the preparation and ultrasound for the kidney cyst drainage, another serious life threatening problem was discovered...a tear in his ureter leaking urine which pooled around the kidney, the bladder, with some leakage into abdominal cavity. An urologist, Dr. S., was brought in and his exam showed that immediate surgery was needed. He said Michael was only days or even hours away from it becoming life threatening. Dr. S. told us that, rather than risk surgery in his condition, a stint would be placed from his bladder to his kidney allowing the urine to pass through so that the tear could heal over time. A bag was attached to drain the fluid around the kidney and bladder, which looked frightening as a large amount of blood drained for the first two days.
Dr. S. informed us that if there were an obstruction in the ureter that it would be impossible to get the stint in. If that proved to be the case, surgery would be necessary. I was concerned on two levels...not wanting Michael to have to go through that kind of surgery, and because the medical bills were mounting. My credit card was maxed, some friends had loaned as much money as they could, and I had no idea where to get any more financial assistance. I made calls for prayers that all go well with the stint insertion...a surgical procedure in which Michael had a spinal tap and full anesthesia. He was already in a weakened condition due to the other procedures, chronic pain, and his overall health.
After a couple of hours, Dr. S. came into the room before they brought Michael down. He pulled out an x-ray and told me that unfortunately there was an obstruction in the ureter. I caught my breath not knowing what we were going to do given the circumstances. Then the doctor's face lit up in a big smile and he got excited telling me that he was going to frame the x-ray and hang it on his wall as "an award-winning procedure." He said that when he came to the obstruction that he did "something special" and the "stint just went right through the obstruction." I was so filled with joy I thought I'd drop to the floor with hands lifted in gratitude! I patted him on the back and said "thank you, thank you, thank you!!" and then "Thank God!!" He replied "yes, thanks to God." Some of the staff began calling Michael the "miracle patient."
After 9 days in the hospital, he had gained 22 pounds and was eating solid food. The final tests showed the stint was in good place and the fluid around the kidney had completely drained. He was discharged...only to return the next day following a frightening set back during the night. A scary long night with calls to the doctor for help, but no way off the island until morning. Michael and I spent another night in the hospital and two nights at a nearby hotel per doctor's orders, returning to the hospital twice for injections to relieve severe intestinal pain.
The day after being back home from the second hospital stay, he was feeling much better, looking better, and had a healthy appetite. But, in short time, the abdominal pain returned and increased significantly over the next few days and nights until it became unbearable. Another emergency flight took Michael to Dr. G's gastroenterology clinic where he was admitted for observation and treatment for two nights.
While in Belize, Michael suffered through 5 months of pain and weight loss, nearly 2 weeks in the hospital, 4 specialists, 2 emergency surgeries, and a colonoscopy/colon procedure. The medical related expenses mounted beyond what we could pay on our own, with more follow-up exams and another surgical procedure involving the stint and kidney due in a couple of months.
(Michael in Belize several days after hospital discharge. Even through the pain, his smile lights up a room.)
Michael had to close his art gallery just before the beginning of high tourist season. Preparation for my internet business and book publication, following my teaching retirement several months previously, has been on hold while caring for Michael 24 hours per day, along with managing all the household chores he normally does in addition to my own.
Our faith has been tested with fire. It hasn't been easy to keep trusting, but we do our best. I have found wells of strength I never thought possible.
Although we love this little island, daily living in a Third World country is more time consuming and demanding than in the US, and there are many things that I don't have the physical strength for. I've had to learn to go out and ask for help from some of the local men. I've had to be strong and fearless in a place where it's not always safe to be a woman on her own. I'm in a somewhat vulnerable position having a husband who is physically too weak to care for and protect us. However, we are blessed to have many wonderful locals watching out for us and being supportive of us. I haven't had a full nights sleep in over 5 months. Neither has Michael. I'm exhausted mentally and physically, but I am so grateful that Michael is through the life threatening kidney issues and pray these next nights and days will be the final obstacle to his recovery. We’re looking forward to 2015 being a year of vibrant health, success, and prosperity.
February & March 2015
Unfortunately, the trial continues as Michael's health deteriorated further, pain increased, and his weight dropped to a malnourished state of under 95 pounds (at 5’10” tall) after being hospitalized in the US.
On Feb 5th, after our wonderful doctors in Belize said they've done all they are able to do with what they have available, I brought Michael back to our home state of Colorado for treatment and to be near family and long-time friends. Tears streamed down my face...for the suffering my husband was experiencing, leaving our island dream and Michael's art gallery behind, and for the unknown future we face.
It's been over 7 months of pain for my husband, 3 hospital visits in Belize, a 17 day hospital stay in Colorado followed by health care assistance at home, and more medical treatments in the near future. It took faith and courage to live our biggest dream. Now we are faced with continuing to get Michael well, paying medical bills and finding a home that meets our financial and disability needs in Colorado. We are determined to pick up the pieces of our life, and are doing our best to hold on to hope, to keep our faith strong, and to continue keeping our dreams alive.
(Michael in heathier days. He loves painting watercolors, making jewelry, carving little items)
We hope to come through this wiser, stronger, richer in every way, and able to be a blessing to others who find themselves struggling with unexpected obstacles changing the course of their dreams.
We have already seen many miracles throughout this ordeal and believe that Michael will fully recover and return to his art and the island, or whatever blessings and purpose God has in store. We are so thankful for the love and encouragement of our friends at this extremely challenging time. We appreciate with all our hearts any amount you are able to give.
Love and gratitude from Carmen and Michael
Michael was hospitalized for costly emergency surgical procedures while in Belize. After doctors did all they could, Michael and Carmen were forced to leave the island and Michael's art gallery that they had dreamed of for so long, in order to return to Colorado for Michael's life-saving care. Some of Michael's treatment is not covered by insurance. Please help them through this medical and financial crisis. Any amount that you donate is received with gratitude. Your prayers or thoughts for recovery and restoration are also appreciated.
Much Love and Gratitude,
H. Burkes
Below, read Carmen's account of the health and medical issues they have faced over the past several months:
It's hard to ask for help. It takes strength and courage to reach out to others, especially when people told us how brave we've been to face the fear and go for our biggest dream.
We have already found how caring people are...friends, family, and those we don't even know. We hope and pray that we will come through this crisis and be in a position to help others who find themselves facing unexpected mountains on the path of their dreams. We believe it so.
January 21, 2015
When we took the leap of faith on Jan 1, 2012 into the biggest dream of our life of living on the small Caribbean island that we'd loved and visited for nearly two decades, we never imagined that on Jan 3rd, three years later, we'd be getting Michael on an emergency flight from the island to a hospital and then transporting him in an ambulance through the streets of Belize City.
Michael was under the care of our only doctor here on the island for a few months. The doctor left mid-December to attend advanced medical training in the States. The nearest hospital is about 40 miles away in Belize City. Water taxis and planes do not provide service between 5pm to 6am. There were nights of fear and absolute helplessness with Michael's crying out in pain and no one to call and nothing to be done except pray with all our heart and soul and every ounce of faith.
Michael has been ill for over 5 months with abdominal pain which increased over the past two months (Nov/Dec) with rapid weight loss. He had a CT scan in December which revealed narrowing in two areas of his colon. Before we could get him in for a colonoscopy, though, the pain became severe and his lower left back "muscle" that had given him trouble for over 15 years, causing him to give up his window cleaning business in Colorado a few years ago, suddenly knotted up in excruciating pain wrapping around his side to his groin. The muscle swelled up and I applied sports cream, camphor, and coconut oil to no avail.
He finally agreed that he needed to get further medical help...a scary thing not knowing what we were facing in a Third World country, even at a private hospital. I knew things were really bad when he asked me to take him to the hospital, because he has not been hospitalized nor even had to go to a doctor for anything other than a stitch or something like that in over 30 years.
He was in too much pain and too weak to make the hour long water taxi ride with even the slightest of waves. We had to fly him to Belize Medical Associates over the weekend, a private hospital with 12 rooms in Belize City. He had lost weight so fast over the previous several weeks that he only weighed 100 pounds by then...it seemed to drop daily. They admitted him to the hospital for the colon pain, administered TPN (intravenous caloric nutrition and vitamins), and scheduled a colonoscopy first thing Monday morning..
During the first night in the hospital he cried out because of the back pain. The nurse called the doctor on staff. When he asked the doctor to give him something for the back muscle pain, the doctor felt his back and asked to see the CT scan images from three weeks prior. He discovered something the gastrointestinal doctor had overlooked....he had a large cyst on his left kidney. Dr. C., a kidney specialist, was called in. They did another scan of just that area. What Michael thought was back pain all these years, with chiropractic treatment, was actually a cyst growing. It had become so large and full of fluid that it was in danger of rupture, possibly within days, according to the doctor. He was scheduled for emergency surgery Monday evening.
Monday morning, an ambulance transported Michael to a private gastroenterology clinic and Dr G., who had come highly recommended to us. Myself and a hospital R.N. accompanied him to the clinic. She and I watched the entire procedure on a monitor as the doctor performed the colonoscopy. He explained what he saw along the way. Symptoms of Crohn's flare-up, after 30 years in remission, and the two narrowings in his large intestine. One of them was so tight that it was a wonder anything was passing through. The doctor used instruments to break through and stretch them to normal size. It appeared he would be okay.
Monday evening, during the preparation and ultrasound for the kidney cyst drainage, another serious life threatening problem was discovered...a tear in his ureter leaking urine which pooled around the kidney, the bladder, with some leakage into abdominal cavity. An urologist, Dr. S., was brought in and his exam showed that immediate surgery was needed. He said Michael was only days or even hours away from it becoming life threatening. Dr. S. told us that, rather than risk surgery in his condition, a stint would be placed from his bladder to his kidney allowing the urine to pass through so that the tear could heal over time. A bag was attached to drain the fluid around the kidney and bladder, which looked frightening as a large amount of blood drained for the first two days.
Dr. S. informed us that if there were an obstruction in the ureter that it would be impossible to get the stint in. If that proved to be the case, surgery would be necessary. I was concerned on two levels...not wanting Michael to have to go through that kind of surgery, and because the medical bills were mounting. My credit card was maxed, some friends had loaned as much money as they could, and I had no idea where to get any more financial assistance. I made calls for prayers that all go well with the stint insertion...a surgical procedure in which Michael had a spinal tap and full anesthesia. He was already in a weakened condition due to the other procedures, chronic pain, and his overall health.
After a couple of hours, Dr. S. came into the room before they brought Michael down. He pulled out an x-ray and told me that unfortunately there was an obstruction in the ureter. I caught my breath not knowing what we were going to do given the circumstances. Then the doctor's face lit up in a big smile and he got excited telling me that he was going to frame the x-ray and hang it on his wall as "an award-winning procedure." He said that when he came to the obstruction that he did "something special" and the "stint just went right through the obstruction." I was so filled with joy I thought I'd drop to the floor with hands lifted in gratitude! I patted him on the back and said "thank you, thank you, thank you!!" and then "Thank God!!" He replied "yes, thanks to God." Some of the staff began calling Michael the "miracle patient."
After 9 days in the hospital, he had gained 22 pounds and was eating solid food. The final tests showed the stint was in good place and the fluid around the kidney had completely drained. He was discharged...only to return the next day following a frightening set back during the night. A scary long night with calls to the doctor for help, but no way off the island until morning. Michael and I spent another night in the hospital and two nights at a nearby hotel per doctor's orders, returning to the hospital twice for injections to relieve severe intestinal pain.
The day after being back home from the second hospital stay, he was feeling much better, looking better, and had a healthy appetite. But, in short time, the abdominal pain returned and increased significantly over the next few days and nights until it became unbearable. Another emergency flight took Michael to Dr. G's gastroenterology clinic where he was admitted for observation and treatment for two nights.
While in Belize, Michael suffered through 5 months of pain and weight loss, nearly 2 weeks in the hospital, 4 specialists, 2 emergency surgeries, and a colonoscopy/colon procedure. The medical related expenses mounted beyond what we could pay on our own, with more follow-up exams and another surgical procedure involving the stint and kidney due in a couple of months.
(Michael in Belize several days after hospital discharge. Even through the pain, his smile lights up a room.)
Michael had to close his art gallery just before the beginning of high tourist season. Preparation for my internet business and book publication, following my teaching retirement several months previously, has been on hold while caring for Michael 24 hours per day, along with managing all the household chores he normally does in addition to my own.
Our faith has been tested with fire. It hasn't been easy to keep trusting, but we do our best. I have found wells of strength I never thought possible.
Although we love this little island, daily living in a Third World country is more time consuming and demanding than in the US, and there are many things that I don't have the physical strength for. I've had to learn to go out and ask for help from some of the local men. I've had to be strong and fearless in a place where it's not always safe to be a woman on her own. I'm in a somewhat vulnerable position having a husband who is physically too weak to care for and protect us. However, we are blessed to have many wonderful locals watching out for us and being supportive of us. I haven't had a full nights sleep in over 5 months. Neither has Michael. I'm exhausted mentally and physically, but I am so grateful that Michael is through the life threatening kidney issues and pray these next nights and days will be the final obstacle to his recovery. We’re looking forward to 2015 being a year of vibrant health, success, and prosperity.
February & March 2015
Unfortunately, the trial continues as Michael's health deteriorated further, pain increased, and his weight dropped to a malnourished state of under 95 pounds (at 5’10” tall) after being hospitalized in the US.
On Feb 5th, after our wonderful doctors in Belize said they've done all they are able to do with what they have available, I brought Michael back to our home state of Colorado for treatment and to be near family and long-time friends. Tears streamed down my face...for the suffering my husband was experiencing, leaving our island dream and Michael's art gallery behind, and for the unknown future we face.
It's been over 7 months of pain for my husband, 3 hospital visits in Belize, a 17 day hospital stay in Colorado followed by health care assistance at home, and more medical treatments in the near future. It took faith and courage to live our biggest dream. Now we are faced with continuing to get Michael well, paying medical bills and finding a home that meets our financial and disability needs in Colorado. We are determined to pick up the pieces of our life, and are doing our best to hold on to hope, to keep our faith strong, and to continue keeping our dreams alive.
(Michael in heathier days. He loves painting watercolors, making jewelry, carving little items)
We hope to come through this wiser, stronger, richer in every way, and able to be a blessing to others who find themselves struggling with unexpected obstacles changing the course of their dreams.
We have already seen many miracles throughout this ordeal and believe that Michael will fully recover and return to his art and the island, or whatever blessings and purpose God has in store. We are so thankful for the love and encouragement of our friends at this extremely challenging time. We appreciate with all our hearts any amount you are able to give.
Love and gratitude from Carmen and Michael
Organizer
Heaven Leigh Burkes
Organizer
Fort Collins, CO
