Stroke Recovery Support for Mike Nagy

Dear family, friends, and sympathetic strangers. We are going to open up about something that has been extremely traumatic and difficult for us all, now that we have passed the initial critical stages. Our Father Michael needs help now more than ever, and we also need help as we support him through this.

Mike was found seizing in his home on March 11th, after suffering a massive stroke. The stroke was brought on from a car accident that took place late February. It is undetermined how long he was stroking/seizing for, or how long his brain went without oxygen, but there are indications that it may have been happening for days.

Our Dad was placed on life support and airlifted to an ICU a far distance from all our homes. Due to the severity of the situation, his condition, and the weather, Mike waited 18 hours for transport via mediplane. His condition was so severe that the ICU doctors told us that they wanted us to understand that their intent was "to save his life.” Anything after the fact would be unclear due to many factors. The nurses said, "He was by far the sickest patient in the ICU, if not the entire island."

The stroke affected the left side of his brain and frontal lobe, and the right side of his body. Mike's prognosis was poor. If, by some miracle, he survived, our Dad was expected to face severe difficulties - partial or full paralysis of the right side of his body (his dominant side), brain death or severe cognition challenges, and even a complete or partial personality change.

Despite the grave scenario and all odds being stacked against him, we did not say goodbye. Rather, we encouraged our Dad to keep fighting each day - and fight he did. After a month of a being in a medically induced coma and intubation, kidney, lung and heart failure, dialysis which was expected to be life-long, pneumonia, sepsis, failed extubation, initial paralyzation, a tracheostomy, and many other factors - we are extremely grateful that our Dad has not only fought his way through to survival, but he has defied all odds so far. Mike’s team at the ICU stated that he is a miracle case. However, a new fight begins as he prepares for his inpatient recovery and rehabilitation, paving the path to his new normal.

Due to the nature of his stroke and the areas it affects, our Dad will have to undergo extensive rehabilitation and therapies. We do not know what level of care he will need, what capabilities or challenges he will face, any equipment or medication he will need, etc. It has not only been a long road for Mike so far, but for his family as well. He has been blessed to have family with him every day, with most family members traveling far to visit him for days at a time.

Anybody that knows Mike or our family knows that none of us like to ask for help, and have a hard time accepting it. However, we understand that there is a time and place for everything, and that time for Mike and our family is now. We have put aside our pride to ask that if anybody would like to help support our Dad and his family during his recovery and rehabilitation journey, it would be greatly appreciated, but is definitely not expected. Thank you for giving us your support and empathy to navigate this as we fight alongside Mike.