<div>From Michael's wife, Shannon-
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<div>On Sunday morning, March 17, 2024, Michael woke up and immediately fell as he was getting out of bed. I went to check on him, he had managed to get himself up and was trying to walk to the bathroom. He told me he was dizzy and couldn’t feel his right side. He made it to the bathroom and once again fell. This time, he told me again he couldn’t feel his right side, but his speech was very hard to understand. I immediately called 911, which he was not happy about. The 911 call confirmed what I thought, he was having a stroke or had a stroke. The ambulance came &amp; took him to Baptist East ER. I got there about 15 minutes later, they had already performed a CT Scan and he indeed had a bleeding stroke.
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<div>At that time, the neurologist and ER doctors had determined that if the bleeding was contained, he would not need surgery and this could be “self-healing” meaning the brain would absorb the blood back. If the swelling worsened or the bleeding continued, within the next 12-24 hours, he would need brain surgery and unfortunately, that is what happened. The bleeding worsened some and he had a clot in his brain. The surgery was successful in removing most of the clot and stopping the bleeding. The unknown question was whether or not there would be permanent brain damage.
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<div>After surgery, Michael was moved to ICU for close monitoring &amp; to make sure he had no further complications. Over the next few days, Michael was in and out of being coherent, as you can imagine, having brain surgery and being extremely agitated. No movement in his right arm, some palsy on his face on the right side, and limited movement in his right leg. He was not able to focus on anything (ie. watching TV or visitors talking). He was sort of out of it.
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<div>Michael had not had water or food this entire time, the decision was made by the nutritionist that he needed some nutrients. They put a G Tube in his nose, for temporary liquid feeding. By Friday, March 22, 2024, the swelling on his incision was better, he had no complications from surgery and he was on less and less medication for agitation. We moved to the stroke floor of Baptist East Park Tower, level 5 on that Friday.
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<div>Within 24 hours, Michael was improving tremendously, he was becoming more coherent and able to speak some, with a lot of hard work. Every day since that Friday, he has become more and more improved. We are now out of the critical care phase and on to rehabilitation. He has had physical and occupational therapy every day since Saturday, March 23, 2024. His last swallow test on Monday, March 25, 2024, was successful and the follow-up swallow test was successful as well, so Michael was able to have solid, normal food Tuesday, March 26, 2024, for the first time since Saturday. March 16! Today, March 27, we are working on eating more and being moved to acute inpatient rehab here at Baptist East. Michael has to gradually eat more for every meal. Before he can have the G Tube removed and be discharged to rehab. His speech is improving day by day, he is working hard on bringing movement and feeling back to his right leg. Today Michael was able to move from the bed to the chair with help from two therapists. We are now in, inpatient rehab for approximately 2 through 3 weeks, Michael will have to learn how to use his right arm again, hopefully, walk, shower etc.
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<div>Michael has come leaps and bounds in just a short time, I am hopeful that will continue.
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<div>As you can imagine, Michael's hospital bills and loss of work for Shannon and Michael, are among the hurdles they must face. Any help would be immensely appreciated! We thank you in advance!
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Amy Blair

Kevin McDaniel

Nancy Reiss

Rhonda Becker

Sue Hagan

Catherine Carrico

Michael Broeker

Mandy Schneider-Wood

Susan Melton

Joshua Houlette

Anonymous

Timothy Yost

Robert Hook

Jennifer Stedman

Stacy Emmons Book

Angela Colyer

Cindy Corum

Jason Mincin

Katie Holt

Help Michael on his road to  Recovery!

Help Michael on his road to Recovery!

Still $44,645 to go. Help us build momentum.