Help Chris McMichael in his fight!

I have known Chris McMichael since my family moved to Michigan in 2014 and I began working with him at UPS in Detroit. He is a driver at UPS who I have had the pleasure of getting to know at a more personal level in recent years. He is a loving husband to a beautiful wife, Beth. He is a wonderful father to two awesome sons, Zach and Cooper. He puts his heart 110% into everything he that he does whether it be delivering packages as a Circle of Honor UPS driver signifying 25 YEARS OF SAFE DRIVING, coaching kids in youth baseball, or bowling a 300 at the lanes after work. He loves sports, he loves his job, and he loves God and his family above all else.

I had the pleasure of giving his Circle of Honor induction speech a few months back. In that speech I told the work group I have never met another coworker who could walk through the door and flip a switch and be able to turn off the stress of the outside world in order to be able to focus on his job and remain safe. I told them that in the last couple years they wouldn’t have been able to tell his wife was battling cancer and beat it unless he told them. I told them they at that very moment his dad was at home dying of cancer and after each shift, he was going home to see his father in what could be the last time each night and they wouldn’t know unless he told them. That day eventually came and his father passed on.“McMikes” had that ability to be sharp and dialed in and go to work to support his family.

Recently, a new obstacle has arose. He has been battling headaches for a long time. At various appointments those headaches were attributed to overwhelming stress, which wasn’t surprising. However, those headaches became worse and after doctors took a closer look, Chris learned he had a 3.8cm mass growing on the backside of his brain. Immediate action needed to be taken to find out if it was a) cancerous and b) removable.

His life and his family’s life changed immediately in those couple minutes speaking to the doctor. This was something he wasn’t going to be able to flip a switch and work through. A week ago he and Beth reported to Henry Ford Hospital to prep for emergency surgery. They did learn that the mass was NOT cancerous. Praise the lord . The surgery still had to be done. Beth and Zach waited for almost 5 long hours while the doctor went in and delicately removed that mass. The surgery was successful. That was the first step in a very long process to getting Chris back to his old self.

The surgery took a toll on him, which isn’t surprising given the nature of it. He has had vision issues, which are hopefully short term. He hasn’t been able to look down without getting dizzy. He can only sit up for a few hours at a time. His biggest variable to overcome will be getting the use of his legs back. He cannot control his legs to be able to support his body. Getting him to be able to walk again is going to require very intense in hospital therapy that the insurance hasn’t approved yet. He won’t be able to go home for a couple weeks most likely. He won’t be able to even think about work for 5-10 months according to him. This time period is going to present a huge hardship for his family. His income will quickly decrease in a couple weeks. While the family is praying insurance covers the majority of medical expenses, the normal day to day bills will continue to pile up.

This is where I need you to lend a helping hand. If you are able to provide food or care for the family, that is greatly welcomed I am sure.

I am asking you to help out financially in any way you can. Any amount small or large will be immediate help to Chris and his family. Beth will have access to the funds raised through this GoFundMe almost immediately once she takes ownership of the account.

I have been speaking to my UPSers for several days about rallying around McMikes and his family and we are prepared to put our arms around them and be family support, spiritual support and financial support all at once. I beg you to do the same. If you know Chris from the bowling alleys, please help. If you have met him on the baseball diamonds, please help. If you have attended church with them, please help. If you are reading this and have never met him, please help. If you don’t have the financial ability to help, you still can simply by sharing the link for this site. One person alone can help for sure, but a whole army of prayers, love and support is needed to help out Chris and his family during this time. Please consider donating and sharing the link. I know the family will be thankful.

One formality I want to let you know of is that GoFundMe has a built in tip when you donate. You should be able to edit it and set it back to zero if you don’t want to offer the tip.

Chris, Beth and family please know that we are all praying for you, are thinking of you and are prepared to do everything we can to hold you up and do our part to help you. May God Bless you all. Thank you.