Send Mikey Home

Mike has been my best friend since we met at a track meet at the end of Junior High. Then I saw Mike in the weight room at the beginning of high school.

The rest as they say was history. If you have a best friend you have probably been through a lot together and shared some of your most personal secrets.

The same was true for Mike and I or so I thought.

When I found out Mike was in ICU because of a drug overdose. I noticed in my call & text history, Mike and I hadn't spoken for over a week.

Then I started going through my friend's things because he was totally incapacitated in a coma, I started to see just how much I didn't know, nor did anyone else.

Mike, like many people was dealing with personal issues and using Alcohol as a way to cope with his pain.

That is the issue, we don't have space or think it's okay to share our problems for fear of judgment, shame or being "SELFISH". I think it's generally like that for most of us and particularly men.

We do everything on our own, as did Mike. Until one day an old friend of his came knocking with an old habit.

Mike ended up unconscious for eighteen hours because there was no one to care for him. Mike overdosed on what he thought was cocaine but was actually something else far worse.

He almost died and we were told he may not wake up and if he did, he'd be a vegetable for life. Fortunately doctors are great with acute care but not so good at telling the future.

It's been 4 years and Mike is totally awake now. He has an outstanding memory, he's learned to speak again and his mobility has strong signs of possible recovery.

Mike has managed to do all of that from the healthcare system alone. Which if you have no experience there; How that world works from my observation is, great for survival not so much for thriving.

Mike has purpose in his life and a second chance. He wants to inspire kids to share what they are dealing with and to make better choices around peer pressure and drugs.

We need help.. Mike is in Alberta and all of his family is in New Brunswick. There is very little support here for him and very limited access to rehabilitation, speech therapy etc..

Mike is currently on a tube feed and 100% reliant on nurses and healthcare workers to care for him. However, Mike is a fighter and with proper resources he could be on a stage in front young people possibly in a year or two.

We want to get him home which we've been told is ridiculously expensive by private flight. I'm thinking, we're better off buying a special vehicle and driving him across the country and then his family could use the vehicle for him to get around.

We also want to create a budget for him to access some rehap and the help he needs to create a new life. He's only 34 and has lots left to give to the world.

Our goal is to raise $100,000 as that should put him off to a good start for his second chance and the difference he wants to make for young people.

Mike has been a great friend to me and has supported me through tough times. I want to do something big for him.. He deserves it.

Mike has a sister, mother father and a nephew waiting for him in New Brunswick. Let's send him with a smile..

Thanks so much for reading :)