Twenty weeks ago, our dear friend Mike Drout received a devastating diagnosis: esophageal cancer. This marks the second life-threatening battle Mike has faced—in 2017 he nearly lost his life to West Nile Virus He survived then with grit, grace, and the unwavering support of his family. Now, he’s fighting again.

But this time, the road has been even harder. Every step of Mike’s cancer journey has been met with resistance from insurance providers, leaving his family to shoulder mounting medical costs while navigating the emotional toll of treatment. Mike is a devoted father, a resilient fighter and one of the funniest people you'll meet. He is the kind of guy who will turn a hospital visit into an entertaining skit. His spirit is strong, his jokes are great, and his love for his family is in the heart of everything he does.

We’re raising funds to help cover medical expenses and provide stability for Mike, Kelly, and his children during this critical time. Your support will ease the financial burden and allow his family to focus on what matters most: healing, hope, and time together.

Please give what you can, share this page, and stand with Mike in this fight.

October 1, 2025: After we got home from Mike's Monday IV fluid treatment, we got to turn around and go back to the hospital early Monday night for a CT scan of his neck, chest, stomach, etc. We received those test results on Tuesday, September 30, 25 and took the day and night to process what we learned. (The longest day ever.)

Unfortunately, the test results showed that the original tumor in the esphogas has rapidly grown in size, hence why he can no longer talk, and additional tumors are present in the spine, liver and the ribs. This means that the current treatmeant plan since diagnosis 20 weeks ago has not been successful for Mike.

We are now discussing ways to keep Mike comfortable for quality of life.

The struggle for him has been very difficult and has taken its toll on his body as well as his mind. The boys and I pray for peace and comfort for Mike and ask that family and friends join us in that request. ✝️

May 17. 2025: Our family could really use some prayers right now.

✝️. Long read, but we are trying to get everyone up to speed in 1 spot.

Mike hasn't been feeling well since February 2025. Around the boys 18th birthday in April, he really started struggling to eat solid foods. He finally did some doctoring last week, (because he wasn't able to get in sooner) and had his 1st endoscope on Friday, May 9th, where they took multiple biopies. They found a 10 cm tumor in his esphogas. (The doctor couldn't even get past the tumor with a pediactric scope to really see what is going on past the tumor).

He was on a liquid diet, because he couldn't really swollow, maybe 500-800 calories a day, very weak, and has lost about 20 pounds in 3 weeks.

On Tuesday, May 13th, Mike was taken to the ER and then admitted to the hospital. He tried taking a very small pill, (think a tic tac) and it got stuck in his esphogas, by the tumor. He couldn't even get water down to help push it through, so it was best to take him in.

Mike went through a ton of tests the past 4 days where it is confimed that he has esphogical cancer. (CANCER... a word that no one ever wants to hear and begin to process.) He will have a PET scan in a week to determine staging, and has a team of doctors that will be coming up with his treatment plan for potential radiation, chemo, surgery, etc., nothing will be determined until after the PET scan.

Mike was released from West Allis hospital on Friday, May 16, 2025. Just in time to get home for a shower, a nap in his own bed, and get to see Lucas graduate from WCTC.

Heres what we need...

Prayers for Mike to gain some weight on his own via a liquid diet of 1700-2000 calories a day. (It takes him awhile to eat or drink anything because of the tumor, but he needs to get all nutrition/high calories/protein in to gain weight and strength back.) This avoids a potential feeding tube and medical procedure if he can do this on his own.

Prayers that he WILL beat this cancer, fight like crazy, and push forward.

Prayers for the boys to finish the last month of high school strong and to try and maintain focus through this.

Prayers for our whole family please... especially for strength, patience and grace. This is not our 1st medical fight for Mike (8 years ago suddenly feels like yesterday), our family strongly believes in the power of prayer, and that it truly works.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out via text, call, facebook, etc. The meals, gift cards, and cards have greatly helped out... we have felt the love. Especially for the boys who have held down the fort at home with school, work, and Kozmo... it brought us relief that they were being taken care of while at the hospital.

For now, we will update friends and extended family on facebook, and navigate this challenge put in front of us. ‍‍‍ ✝️