Help Michael Reel's Recovery

My name is Kerri and on the weekend of June 19th myself, my husband, Darryl , and our friends, Mike, Ang, Bernie, Kelsey, and Kelsey's kids Braelin and Maddyx got together for a weekend trip in Rocky Mountain House to camp, sightsee, hike and do some ATVing.

Mike was unfortunately in an ATV accident and was airlifted by STARS Air Ambulance to the Foothills Hospital in Calgary on the evening of Saturday, June 19th. Mike has suffered numerous injuries, he broke his lower back in two places (L11 and L4), shattered his pelvis and hip which caused his leg to be dislocated, every rib on his right side has multiple fractures, two broken ribs on his left side, he collapsed his lung, and has a laceration on his forehead.

Mike's first surgery was on Saturday, June 19th to stabilize his leg (in traction) until they could repair his pelvis and hip. Mike's second surgery was 3 days later, on Tuesday, June 22, when the doctors spent the next 4 hours repairing and rebuilding his pelvis and hip with metal plates and pins. After a really hard day of surgery on Tuesday, Mike's family received the fantastic news that the two breaks in his lower back are stable and at this time no surgery is required. Mike is able to move the toes on both feet. On June 25th, doctors continued their efforts to inflate his collapsed lung.

The next step in this journey for Mike is the road to recovery, and it is going to be a long one. Mike needs to have one focus in the coming months and that is getting well. As much as he would love to talk to everyone, we ask that you respect his wishes to keep his phone line open for his daughter and mother in Nova Scotia. We anticipate Mike's stay in the hospital will last another couple of weeks but the recovery will take upwards of a year.

Mike has an extreme love for life not only the camping trips he gets to enjoy but also a career he has been at for over two decades and is incredible at.

Mike had taken a weekend off from work to enjoy his first social gathering since the start of Covid. Once the campsite was set up, he and 2 of his life long friends (Darryl and Bernie) decided to scope out the trails before settling down for a night of beers and campfire. All 3 ATVs were going less than 10kms/hr when the tires hit a rut and rolled the ATV down the embankment. The minutes that followed, felt like hours and the details became sketchy and did not matter. The 3 men were riding one behind each other, Mike at the end - Darryl turned around to check on everyone and noticed Mike was missing. He and Bernie circled back thinking Mike had potentially turned the wrong way. When they didn't see him, they turned their ATVs off and could hear Mike calling for help. Darryl was first on scene with Mike and Bernie left to call 911 as there was no cell service in that area. Darryl with the help of a passing couple were able to keep Mike stable and calm until first responders arrived.

This Go Fund Me page is to help with the long recovery and uncertainties that lie ahead. We want to show our support to help Mike out financially so he is able to focus on his recovery with no added stress. Please keep Mike in your thoughts and your prayers. We will update everyone on his progress via Facebook.