Over this past week many people have been asking Kelly and her kids "what can I do to help?" Several have dropped off food for them, so making dinner is never a concern after getting home from long days spent in the hospital. As for others, I have been trying to think of ways to help Kelly and her daughters through this difficult time and decided to make a fundraising page to help out with the many expenses she will face.

The family was spending an ordinary day at Rehoboth Beach when they spotted her husband Mike, face down floating in the water, tumbling through waves and unable to move. We are unsure of how exactly it happened. Whether he dove into a sand bar or was taken by the rip tide and tossed around underneath, I don't think we'll ever truly know. As an elderly man had ran out and tapped on him he got no response from Mike. He began to scream for help and flipped him over. Mike began to gasp for air with a face so blood red and eyes bulging that he was unrecognizable. After several people working together had finally gotten him up onto the beach, he was then rushed to Beebe General Hospital in Lewes, DE. Soon after he was picked up by helicopter and rushed to Shock Trauma UMMC. 

Mike has broken 2 bones in the neck that have caused the neck to shift forward. In the process of the neck moving forward the spinal cord was pinched, causing the area of damage. Unfortunately there is no procedure that can fix the damage done to the spinal cord. He currently has one working arm and sensation in the other but no movement of the hands. His legs have not yet been responsive since his arrival on August 22nd and it is too early on for the medical team to know if they'll ever work again. The team has not yet been able to complete a reliable exam to see where he lies along the spectrum of SCI but that his case is very serious. He could be stuck with his current, limited function for up to two years. 

As if the injury itself isn't enough to handle, Mike has also been diagnosed with Shewanella Pneumonia. This happens to be an extremely rare form caused by the large amount of sea water Mike had consumed while he was unconscious and helpless. So rare that it is the first time many people in the working hospital staff have heard of it, nor do they know how severe the long term effects will be on his lungs. With this being said they have performed a tracheotomy on him along with the help and support of a ventilator. They are currently running trach trails where they take him off of the ventilator for thirty minutes at a time, twice a day to allow him to rebuild his respiratory muscles, they then re-apply it until he is capable to normally and fully function again. He is also going through neurogenic shock, which is a type of shock resulting in low blood pressure and an abnormally low heart rate, attributed to disruption of pathways within the spinal cord. It will take a significant amount of time for his body to adjust to its new state. 

Last but not least Mike is estimated to remain here at Shock Trauma for another month... As you all know, this immediately leads to rehabilitation. Before he can be sent off he must be one hundred percent capable of breathing without the ventilator for 48 hours straight. There are only a handful of rehabs in the country for his type of injury which also means his family will be traveling to see him. Not only will he endure intense physical rehab but mental and emotional rehabilitation as well, which will take up to two years. Let's help Kelly and her daughters get through this and show our support. No matter how small or big the donation is, I know that anything she receives at the end of this will be appreciated more than any of you will ever know. Continued support is needed and for those who have been giving it, thank you!