Mike's Fight for Life
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Who I am, and why I set up this account:
I am Gail Laurent, I have known Brenda since we were kids, her husband Mike Portera Sr. is the reason I am starting this fund.
This is Mike Portera:
Mike and Brenda have been depending on God’s grace to see them thru this tribulation, as they have in the past. Fifteen years ago, Mike was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and went thru surgery and treatment and had been cancer free until 2014.
In 2014, Mike was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, a second time and in December Mike and Brenda decided to travel to Georgia Cancer Center to have his surgery. However, this was going to be a lot different than the first diagnoses he had years ago. Because of many complications of surgery, and infection, he was in ICU in Georgia for 54 days.
His road to recovery is going to be a long and extensive one.
After 54 days and at least 6 surgeries, they were able to stabilize him and decrease his time on the ventilator, so that he could be transported by air to a long term care facility near his home in Hammond, La. This was a relief for Brenda, who was eager to get him closer to home. He arrived at the facility with a tracheostomy and infections that needed constant care.
Currently, he is fighting staph infections and has had skin-grafting surgeries to encourage healing. He is unable to speak above a whisper and is on a feeding tube. He has a hole in his esophagus and lung and is not strong enough, at this time, to have the surgeries needed to repair these issues.
Mike was working at the time of his surgery and he and Brenda expected he would go back to work after recovering from surgery. However, neither of them knew how extensive this process would be.
This is a marathon, not a sprint!
Mike is very weary but refuses to give up! He and Brenda daily must put aside their fears and concentrate on faith. To help Mike in his efforts to win this battle, I thought about what I could do, that would make a real difference to them, (aside from praying for his healing).
I know the financial burden has a way of taking people under, so I decided to make this account for them.
The money collected here, will go to pay for unpaid insurance expenses and bills that have accumulated while they deal with this crisis. As we all know, the bills don’t stop coming because you are facing an emergency.
Even the smallest of donations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all for the love, support and prayers for Mike & Brenda during this difficult time in their lives!
My prayer is that this gesture of love will help give them some relief so that Mike can concentrate on THE FIGHT OF HIS LIFE.
I am Gail Laurent, I have known Brenda since we were kids, her husband Mike Portera Sr. is the reason I am starting this fund.
This is Mike Portera:
Mike and Brenda have been depending on God’s grace to see them thru this tribulation, as they have in the past. Fifteen years ago, Mike was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and went thru surgery and treatment and had been cancer free until 2014.
In 2014, Mike was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, a second time and in December Mike and Brenda decided to travel to Georgia Cancer Center to have his surgery. However, this was going to be a lot different than the first diagnoses he had years ago. Because of many complications of surgery, and infection, he was in ICU in Georgia for 54 days.
His road to recovery is going to be a long and extensive one.
After 54 days and at least 6 surgeries, they were able to stabilize him and decrease his time on the ventilator, so that he could be transported by air to a long term care facility near his home in Hammond, La. This was a relief for Brenda, who was eager to get him closer to home. He arrived at the facility with a tracheostomy and infections that needed constant care.
Currently, he is fighting staph infections and has had skin-grafting surgeries to encourage healing. He is unable to speak above a whisper and is on a feeding tube. He has a hole in his esophagus and lung and is not strong enough, at this time, to have the surgeries needed to repair these issues.
Mike was working at the time of his surgery and he and Brenda expected he would go back to work after recovering from surgery. However, neither of them knew how extensive this process would be.
This is a marathon, not a sprint!
Mike is very weary but refuses to give up! He and Brenda daily must put aside their fears and concentrate on faith. To help Mike in his efforts to win this battle, I thought about what I could do, that would make a real difference to them, (aside from praying for his healing).
I know the financial burden has a way of taking people under, so I decided to make this account for them.
The money collected here, will go to pay for unpaid insurance expenses and bills that have accumulated while they deal with this crisis. As we all know, the bills don’t stop coming because you are facing an emergency.
Even the smallest of donations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all for the love, support and prayers for Mike & Brenda during this difficult time in their lives!
My prayer is that this gesture of love will help give them some relief so that Mike can concentrate on THE FIGHT OF HIS LIFE.
Organizer and beneficiary
Gail Thompson Laurent
Organizer
Hammond, LA
Brenda Portera
Beneficiary
