Hope for Mike

Mike had a severe Brain Stem Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Monday night around 8:00 PM 3/11/19. He was taken to Oconee Hospital in Seneca where he and Liz live as it was the closest hospital. He was able to walk into the Emergency Room on his own & rapidly declined from that second on. The staff at Oconee was very professional & prompt and got him in for a CT Scan quickly. We learned that he did indeed have a massive stroke. He was intubated & air lifted to Greenville Hospital where his wife Liz proudly worked for 5 years. Upon arrival to the Neuro ICU unit, things were really hectic & we didn't know what was going on for approximately 4 hours. The Neurologist assigned to his case came out & brought Liz and the kids back to his room. They had placed a shunt in his brain to drain the blood & fluid off, as he had massive swelling and was non-responsive & in a deep coma. The Neurologist had called us in on Wednesday & told us that his outlook was ominous & very grim. He said Mike was most likely not going to ever wake up & we may have some decisions to make soon. Liz, the children, family & friends were all devastated & broken. Hundreds, if not thousands of people were praying for Mike & Family for a miracle. On Thursday morning, the resident came to the waiting room and told Liz that she had asked Mike if he wanted to see his wife....Liz was in shock as she had been in to see him at 5 AM and his condition had not changed. She then told Liz that he was following commands!!!  She broke down & cried & praised God that they were getting their miracle that everyone had been praying for !  Sure enough, he would open his right eye, wiggle his toes on the left & actually gave them a "thumbs up" all on command, all PURPOSEFUL movements!!! Friday, Liz and Mike had a bit of a rough day as Mike was not responsive.  Liz and the kids were disheartened but certainly never stopped praying nor did they lose hope.  Today, 3/16/19,  Mike opened his right eye and was responding to commands and answering questions by wiggling his toes.  Mike can only stay on the ventilator for 14 days before it will start to erode his esophagus. If he is taken off of the ventilator, he will have to have a tracheotomy placed and will be moved to a more long term rehabilitation facility.  Liz talked to Mike about the choices they were facing and Mike wants to fight!!!!  All that Mike has done thus far IS a miracle and it is proof that God is watching over Mike and his family. It's going to take a lot of hard work that we know he can do & it is going to be a very long road to get him functioning to his fullest capacity, but they have so many wonderful friends, family & people they don't even know, praying for Mike, Liz & Family!  Please continue to pray that he continues to improve so they can get him home!  Right now facing such a huge uphill battle, they could use any and all of the help that we can give them!! Liz will be out of work to be with Mike as long as it takes for him to be able to function somewhat independently, and at this point we are not sure how long that will be.  The medical bills will start coming in and the other bills will still continue to come as well.  Please help Mike and Liz by donating. No matter how big or small the donation, it is all very appreciated and it will allow Liz and Mike to have 1 less thing to worry about and they can focus on recovery!!!!!!! Thank you guys for the prayers and the donations!!!