Become Part of Michelle's Village

Michelle McCarel has a village of diverse friends and right now that village needs to unite and come to her rescue. Michelle is facing a very serious medical and financial crisis, one that is threatening the health and well being of this wonderful woman we all have come to know and love.

(For those who don’t know Michelle, she is the redhead on the left in the above picture and Becky, her childhood friend, is on the right).

You may or may not know that for most of her life, Michelle has been dealing with a rare genetic heart condition called ARVD, which gets progressively worse and can sometimes be fatal. She doesn’t share this information freely—or easily—but since her initial diagnosis she has faced and dealt with this ongoing challenge bravely and responsibly.  Most recently, in January, Michelle had epicardial surgery which was quite complicated and ended with mixed results,  unfortunately she developed pericarditis.  This has required yet another ER visit and hospital stay  involving  still more testing and a longer  then normal recovery period.

Despite numerous heart surgeries, beginning in 1987, accompanied by too-many-to-count episodes of frightening Ventricular Tachycardia  (V-TACH), plus dozens of trips to the ER, Michelle has met it all with grace, humor and optimism. After each heart ablation surgery (4 to date) and each episode of VTACH (at least 16 times over the last 28 years and 8 episodes over the last 3 years) which requires Cardioversion in the ER, there has been a monumental toll taken on her heart and her financial life—not to mention the mental and physical recovery needed to rebuild her strength each time.  You all know Michelle to be a strong, upbeat, smart and kind-hearted woman, but there’s only so much one person can handle on their own without becoming overwhelmed when up against a mountain of medical debt.

Unfortunately, she had to use credit cards to make payments on her hospital bills over the years. She just gets one medical episode paid off and boom, the next one comes along.  For example, in 2013 and 2014, she experienced back-to-back hospital stays, which forced her to put back-to-back large healthcare deductibles on her credit cards. During various periods of recovery when she could not work, she had no other choice than to put essentials like rent and food on credit cards.

Friends and family, this is Michelle’s situation.  She needs a village of friends to come to her aid.

Her very good friend, Becky, would like to share some thoughts:
 
“Michelle and I have known each other since we were two years old and we have been like sisters ever since. Even as a child I admired her strength, independence, passion for life, and absolute determination that she exhibits at every turn no matter what life brings to her. Her love for living in the moment… Always finding something to laugh about and seeing every challenge as an opportunity for creativity and wit have always uplifted my spirit and never cease to amaze me. She loves to work, taking on several jobs at once and to support the arts with all her heart and soul. However, I can tell you that this recent  surgery  which was the most lengthy and complicated to date, (epicardial ablation on January 5, 2016) took the wind out of her sails like I have never seen before."

Our goal is to help our good friend, Michelle, take time to heal, pay off accumulated debt incurred  and help her get back on her feet.  Michelle describes it this way, “It’s like being at the base of a mountain. You start at the bottom every couple of years, slowly work your way up, enjoying the return of strength and learning lessons along the way and just as you reach for the top, another heart episode  knocks you back down the mountain.  I have always continued picking myself up each time over the years but this time I can’t seem to locate my pickaxe and supplies. I don’t seem to have the strength to get back up and over the mountain on my own.”

How often do any of us get a chance to make a meaningful, real difference in the life of one of our friends?  Can Michelle’s village of friends come to her aid? Let’s help her get over this mountain!  She deserves some ease of mind and some time to recover, so she can get control of her life and back on her feet again. 

You can be part of the community that’s coming to save the day for Michelle.  She really needs us.  If you choose to contribute, please know that anything you offer will be deeply appreciated.

 Let’s GoFund "Become Michelle’s Village." We’ve got this for her, don’t we?