Hi.  Im Michelle ~ Michael Discipio's sister. Today I am starting a Go Fund Me for my brother #SUPPORT4MIKE and with a very heavy heart I am asking for any help I can get from all of you.

As most of you know on July 3rd 1999 Michael's life changed forever when his family was celebrating his son's little league championship and he dove into his family's backyard swimming pool causing him to break his neck and leaving him a quadruplegic from the neck down along with other life long injuries. Michael is a Shaker High School graduate of 1989 and currently resides in Colonie NY. Up until his accident he was the loving father of 2 and a loving husband. He also had a job he loved as a Albany County Corrections Officer with a bright future ahead of him. But as a result of Michael's accident  the past 22 years has Michael requiring total care 365 days a year 7 days a week 24 hours a day.  Unfortunately that care has been very unpredictable and disappointing to say the least and that is for several different reasons. One because his healthcare provider which is a NYS healthcare agency struggles to maintain staff and/or provide care as necessary.  I believe covid and the federal  unemployment benefit has played a huge part. Although well intended to help so many in need this program also had a unintentional consequence for people like Mike while making it more profitable for aids/workers to stay home and collect unemployment benefits.  Although these benefits have recently come to an end currently there are still so many workers not yet back to work and leaving Mike without help. There are even many days he has no coverage at all and on several occasions he has not even been able to be released from the hospital because there is no one at home for him to be released to.  (There's also been issues with late arrivals or no show of staff on a regular basis) And now with other mandates it looks like things are just going to get tougher. As of today he is hospitalized and has a back side wound that was not properly cared for and it is now infected and sepsis which is the bodies extreme response to the infection and can be life threatening.  Hospitalization is also more frequent & sadly Mike has become more depressed than ever. 
As a family it is extremely difficult to live with this and is heartbreaking to say the least.
And I think we can make a difference and help #SUPPORT4MIKE.
Here is what I'm hoping to do..
I'd like to be able to at least make sure that Mike does not go with out a healthcare provider and has staff at all times by being able to fill in the staffing gaps. I'd like to see that he gets his meds and is not left alone. To see that his wounds are tended to. That he doesn't have missed insulin shots. Less hospital stays. And a lot less worries.
In addition I also know that Mike would hugely benefit from a special sand bed that is used by him when hospitalized. These beds are an  EXTREME expense yet it would be a tremendous benefit for Mike in his wound care healing!
Finally Mike's handicap accessible van has been needing repair for quite some time now and I would love for him to not have the stress of the bill to repair it. 
I know times are so hard for all of us right now and the world is crazy! And we all have so much of our own to deal with. However Im not sure we can begin to imagine what a day in this life is like for him & yet I know he would do everything he could for any one of us if the tables we're turned. So we must try and make a difference. 
That's why I am creating this go fund me and I am asking for any help at all from anyone willing to do so.  Please if you can in any way help Mike. Even sharing this post (and making public!) would be amazing and we would be forever grateful.  Nothing is too little.  Thank you so much for your #SUPPORT4MIKE.


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