Help Michael O'Brien recover from devastating injuries.

I am Michael O'Brien's older brother, Drew. Mike was very seriously injured in a motorcycle accident on Sunday, November 24, 2024. He is lucky to be alive, but he is in very bad shape. He has too many broken bones to list and will need at least 3 surgeries to repair the worst breaks: one surgery to repair a severe break to his left femur and severe breaks to his left tibia and fibula; one surgery to repair several broken bones in his left foot; and at least one more surgery to repair a bad break to his left humerus. His recovery will be long and very difficult and he will likely not be able to work for many months.

Since Mike is self-employed as a dog trainer and he does not have health insurance, he will need lots of financial assistance. For starters, his hospital and rehab bills will likely add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. And since he won't be able to work, his savings will evaporate quickly. We are looking to help him defray at least a portion of these expenses.

I have watched with tremendous admiration for many years as Mike has given so much of his time and treasure rescuing and rehabilitating hundreds of dogs - and helping others to do the same. Now Mike is the one who needs help...and lots of it. Please please help in any way you can.

UPDATE: 11/25, 2:30 PM. Mike has come through his first surgery OK. He should be extubated soon. He'll have another surgery (on his broken arm) as soon as the surgical team has a window. Then a few days after that he will go back in for surgery on his foot. We are in the ICU with him now as he slowly regains consciousness. Right now he just wants to be off the ventillator. Doctors are keeping him as comfortable as possible. We are SO grateful for the love you have already shown him.

UPDATE: 11/26, 6:00 PM. After taking stock of Mike's needs and seeing the incredible generosity of his friends and family, I have decided to increase our fundraising goal for him. I do not make this decision lightly -- the info we have gotten from Mike's care team suggests that he may not be able to work again for 6 months. As you can imagine, plenty of expenses beyond the medical ones will pile up during such a long recovery.

Today we learned that Mike's second surgery - to repair the broken arm - likely won't happen until Friday, November 29. Unfortunately, that means he will have to suffer through Thanksgiving with a badly broken arm that is excruciating when moved even slightly. He will likely have to wait a few more days after that for the third surgery - the one to repair his foot. All of this means that his hospital stay will probably be longer than we first anticipated. For all of those reasons he will need absolutely all the support we can generate for him.

We are humbled by the support he has already received. And we are tremendously grateful to everyone who has already contributed.

If there is a silver lining to his situation it is that he does not have a brain injury - not even a concussion. So we have been able to talk with him - especially today. As broken as he is, he is still himself, which has been a tremendous comfort to those of us who love him. We have been able ro share with him how much love and generosity he has been showered with over the last 36 hours or so and he is incredibly touched. I am sure he will reach out to express his gratitude when he is able.

I will continue to share updates when there is news. Thank you all so much. We feel incredibly fortunate for the generosity you have shown Mike. We will never - never - forget it.

UPDATE: 11/27, 9:00 AM: Recovery from such a serious accident is about ups and downs. This morning brought some difficult news - Mike will likely have to wait until Monday, 12/2 for the surgery to repair his arm. That's tough news to hear because all of the "un-fixed" broken bones are causing Mike SO much pain right now. The arm isn't even in a splint - just a loose sling...so every time he has to be examined, moved, or repositioned, it is just agony for him. On top of that, there's obviously no immobilizing broken ribs, which are also extremely painful for him right now. We are doing everything we can to advocate for him and to provide whatever comfort we can. But there's just no way around it -- these next several days are going to continue to be extremely difficult for him.

Because I try like hell to look for good news, I will relay this: Mike has some AMAZING friends in the dog rescue/dog training community (looking at YOU Kelly Goodall and Tony Ferreira) who have done heroic work making sure all of the dogs in Mike's care are well looked-after during his recuperation. With help from others, they managed - with no time to prepare and very little guidance - to get client dogs back to owners, rescue dogs into new, loving foster homes, and Mike's personal dogs into homes where they will be cared for until Mike can handle them again. Friends like that are...well...invaluable, aren't they?

UPDATE: 11/28, 10:45 AM: Today is Thanksgiving and it will not be a normal one for our family. The typical gathering has been called off. Instead we will be bringing a pretty god turkey dinner to the hospital to share with Mike. He was given an epidural yesterday to alleviate the pain from his broken ribs that had gotten so severe it was causing him significant trouble breathing. A couple of hours later, when it had fully taken effect, I heard the most wonderful thing -- Mike said that his pain level was as low as hit had been since the accident happened. It's amazing how moments of relief like that, however fleeting, are just magical when someone is truly suffering. Mike was as talkative yesterday eve as I have seen him since the accident. So we are very thankful for that.

In addition, Mike was moved out of the ICU near midnight last night. That's both good and bad. On the one hand, it means his condition has improved (however incrementally). On the other hand, the ICU is typically where one gets the best/most constant care. But stepping down is the goal...so we are also thankful for that.

Finally - beyond being so thankful that Mike is still with us, we are tremendously grateful for the dedicated, talented, caring doctors and nurses at the hospital who have been caring for Mike with such compassion. In addition, we continue to be blown away by the support Mike has received from family, friends old and new, the dog rescue community (still looking at you Kelly and Tony), and even strangers. It is beyond heartwarming. Thank you all so so much. We hope you all enjoy time with your families today - please let your loved ones know you love them. It's abundantly clear to us today that you never know when you might be seeing someone for the last time. So let them know you care.

UPDATE: 11/29, 9:15 AM: We were so lucky to be able to share a makeshift Thanksgiving meal with Mike yesterday afternoon in his hospital room. Recoveries from such serious injuries, as I have already said, are about ups and downs...last night was a relative high point.

Mike *might* be able to get in for surgery today to fix his humerus, which would be huge since it would significantly alleviate the terrible pain he is dealing with in and around his left shoulder. The clavicle and scapula may be left to heal on their own, but that humerus needs to be immobilized with some hardware.

I have, reluctantly, decided to raise our fundraising goal again. I am doing this for several reasons. Chief among the reasons is that, as I have already said, Mike has no health insurance and we have learned that his motorcycle insurance may be liability only - so no help there. I have resisted saying anything about exactly what caused the accident, but it suffices to say here that we will certainly be pursuing whatever recovery might be available from the other driver's insurance, but that will take time and we don't even know yet whether she was insured. Also, Mike's hospital stay is going to be longer than we first estimated and he is probably looking at a stay in a rehab facility after he is discharged from the hospital. All of this is going to add up to more than we could ever hope to raise here - certainly in the hundreds of thousands. So, as much as our whole family tends to resist asking for help, I am going to keep asking in this situation. Mike needs all the help we can possibly get for him. As always, please know that we are humbled by the generosity all of you have already shown...we are just profoundly grateful.

UPDATE: DECEMBER 2, 8:45 AM: Mike has a phone in his hospital room and has started posting some of his own updates, so if you know him, check his FB posts.

His final surgery (for now) will happen today. The ortho trauma team will be repairing the breaks in his foot. More hardware! Should Mike ever decide to fly again, security screening will be somewhat more challenging!

Because Mike is uninsured (yes - we are working hard to secure coverage for his recovery going forward), we anticipate he will be discharged very quickly after his foot surgery. Doctors and both physical and occupational therapists have told us that the severity of the fractures to load-bearing bones means he will need 8 to 12 weeks of healing before he can begin "real" PT. Someone with insurance would probably do that healing in a rehab facility. Mike will be doing his healing in one (or more) of our homes. We are on the hunt now for a hospital bed and a bunch more stuff he will need in the near term. Thankfully, some friends have offered to loan several things he will certainly need...we will have to purchase other things. Hopefully, after we establish a rotating schedule, the family will be able to be with Mike around-the-clock for the next 8 to 12 weeks while his bones knit.

Mike still needs all the help we can generate for him. Unfortunately, the best kind of help remains financial assistance at this point. We are so incredibly grateful for what folks have already contributed. Honestly...we are overwhelmed. But the need is enormous, so we will be keeping this fundraiser "live" for the foreseeable future.

Thanks to all of the friends who have given, helped with dogs, and sent messages of support. Especially those of you who have offered to take a meal to my folks or run an errand for them. They are amazing, but they are in their 70's, so they have human limitations that are really being tested by all of this.

Please keep Mike in your thoughts as he enters the "next phase" of his recovery. I suspect the transition from hospital care to home care will have its rough spots. Hopefully we can stay ahead of his pain well enough to help him to heal.