Please Help the Martinez Family

My name is Anna Luke-Jones, and I'm a close friend of Michael and Christina Martinez.  On Monday, October 12, 2020, the Martinez family's world was turned upside down.  At 7:30 a.m. Christina was speaking with Michael and noticed he wasn't responding.  Immediately she called 911 and Michael was rushed to the hospital.  Michael, a very healthy 41 year old with no known underlying conditions, had a STROKE.  Thankfully, because of Christina's background in medicine and quick response, she saved Michael's life.  He made it to the hospital in time to receive TPA, a blood declotting medicine that can only be administered within a certain amount of time after stroke symptoms appear.  He then had a specialized surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain.  Christina texted the following after his surgery, "He has always recognized me through all of the stages today and cried when he saw me after we got reunited in the emergency room.  He was pumping victory fists when he came out of the surgery that removed the blood clot from his brain.  His first words he wrote on a paper were Mom (we call each other Mom and Dad since being parents), Babe, Asher and Sophie.  He understands most things but is struggling to get the words out.  Later in the day he wrote the word 'love' and circled it and pointed to me...please keep praying for us.  We are so grateful for all of you."

Michael is still in the ICU and the specialists still cannot determine what caused his stroke.  They are focused on 1) making sure he does not have another stroke and 2) helping him recover.  This has been devastating.  The damage has been extensive, and Michael will be in speech and physical therapy for quite a while.  Michael, a Special Education Teacher with a Master's Degree in Education, is currently learning the alphabet again.  When asked by a speech therapist multiple times if he has blue eyes, he continued pointing to the window, showing that there is a blue sky. 

Michael and Christina, in all of the chaos of a COVID-19 world, recently decided that Michael would oversee the education of their two children for now, Asher (age 6) and Sophie (age 3), while Christina worked full time as a Midwife/Nurse Practitioner.  Now, Christina will need to oversee the children's education while working full time and supporting Michael's recovery. 

The Martinez family needs your help.  Anything you donate will go directly to Michael and Christina to cover medical and household expenses.  Thank you in advance for your caring, generous hearts.

If you would like to follow Michael's journey, please visit the CaringBridge website at https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/michaelandrewmartinez.