Michael's Health is in Jeopardy - Not a Game!

My name is Helen, and Michael Tvaruzka is my little brother (and Yes, he really appeared on Jeopardy!... and lost). He is not someone who asks for help, but this situation is now desperate, and I am asking for help for him and his family. To those who know him, Michael is a dedicated father to three bright, talented kids (17, 15, and 11) and a good friend. To those of you who don't know him, let me introduce you - he is a dad, a teacher, a volunteer, a cheerleader at his kids' sports events, a warm lap to Minnie the Cat, a lover of the outdoors, a bit of a free spirit, and my only brother. With typical eastern European resilience he has weathered job changes, health scares and a tough divorce, but a recent catastrophic health event has threatened his ability to do what he is most proud of - provide for and support his family. Michael is facing severe financial distress, and he needs you help.

In 2001, at the ripe old age of 32, Michael suffered a stroke, which resulted in a fun-filled helicopter ride to Mayo -Rochester and an extended stay in the hospital. With good medicine and a lot of hard work and time Michael recovered, but an underlying clotting problem remained. It chose to rear its ugly head once more on Friday, August, 13, 2021, when Michael realized he was experiencing stroke symptoms. He was admitted to Mayo Hospital - Eau Claire, and what followed can only be described as a weeklong roller coaster of symptoms of what turned out to be four blood clots and a brain bleed. He has diminished function in one arm, has lost partial sight in one eye, experienced days-long headaches, nausea, dizziness, underwent several CT scans and was a human guinea pig for various medicinal cocktails. The good news is that he has been discharged home, and appears to be slowly improving. The bad news - Michael is uninsured due to the takeover of his company last year and an inability to afford the coverage they offer.

Michael's medical bills from the hospital stay are daunting already, and he will require regular appointments due to the medications he will have to take for the rest of his life. His initial follow-up eye appointment is going to cost him $700. His monthly medication bill will average $200, and that doesn't include the cost of weekly visits for blood testing that will run another $150. His paychecks go to child support and rent - not much left over for the tens of thousands of dollars that he is going to have to now pay.

As a sister I will do as much as I can to help him , but I now need to ask for outside help. I cant do this alone, so I am asking for help from all of the Dads (and Moms!) , the animal lovers, the musicians and linguists and artists, and anyone who is a brother or sister or always wanted to be one. Michael needs your help so he can continue to be the awesome brother/Dad/friend that he always has been and keep taking care of his family. I would love to be able to tell his kids "your dad is going to be all right, and so are all of you!"

Thank you for taking the time to get to know Michael a little bit, and thank you for helping!