Help Emily and Scott During Mikey's Recovery

A lot of families in our community know or have heard about our Forever Fighting , Super Hero, Mikey. To know Mikey is to love him. His personality, spirit, and kindness is contagious. There couldn’t be a nicer living soul out there like our Batman. Since birth Mikey, Scott and Emily have lived in and out hospitals. They remain to stay private throughout most of his journey, bc it’s so life consuming, and would leave them with not much else to talk about.

Last Summer Mikey was hit with several more diagnosis, yet again, including a very rare Genetic disorder known as VACTERAL syndrome. There are only about 50,000 cases in the country. It’s an acronym that basically affects the inside of his entire body. Emily and Scott were made very clear of what lies ahead for them in the future. Timelines, prognosis’s, a roller coaster with no end it site it seems. As of lately those things are starting to surface VERY quickly. He’s spent his whole life in and out of the hospital, facing surgeries, procedures, testing, infusions, etc. Emily’s home routine with Mikey is 24/7 care. And her advocacy for this little boy goes unmatched. She will never stop trying to provide him with the absolute best quality of life.

He hasn’t been to school since before Thanksgiving and will not be returning until sometime in January. He recently had his 8th or 9th neurosurgery at Akron Children’s, on November 27th- the day before Thanksgiving. That was only phase 1. His next 2 surgeries (pelvic and abdominal reconstruction repair) will be down at their sister hospital Nationwide, in Columbus, this coming Monday, December 9th. They’ve been bumped up due to complications and risk.

This has become all too much on this beautiful family and Mikey. Emily would never let on, nor would Scott, but I just know bc she is my soul sister and I talk to her everyday. By the time this particular pivot is said and done, Scott will have gone a month without a paycheck. His Union contract offers no PTO or vacation. He will most likely have to take more time off. Emily is unable to work bc she’s Mikey’s life line. So many things are happening to them all at once leaving them with unexpected expenses.

The very last thing we all want, is to hear a family struggling during the holidays and not help. Especially a family who has given back SO much to our community. Emily has never asked for help, especially publicly. This is a really hard time for everyone. She consistently gives and helps others because that is her love language. But now it’s time for our community to give back, just as they’ve done. Christmas time is magical, and we need to make that happen for all of them, especially our Mikey. Emily is always getting Mikey involved in opportunities on ways to give back. Whether it be the school drive he decided to do for his birthday or picking families off the giving tree and not buying for themselves, & donating too. That’s Emily’s love language is to help others. If she’s got $5 and it’s her last $5, if you need it, it’s yours. Scott is the same way. They live a very, quiet and stressful existence. But I’ve never seen them lose hope, fall short in their stride, or lose their faith. I know she won’t ever ask for help, so I’m doing it for her. Let’s help this family get through these next couple of months.