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*Last Update as of 10/25/21*
It is with great sadness that we share with you our Dad / Husband / Father-in-Law / and Pop Pop peacefully passed away early this afternoon and is now in the arms of our Heavenly Father. He is no longer in pain, and his perfect body has been restored to be in Heaven forever.
He started to go downhill over the weekend. His fever was still going, and the team taking care of him could not figure out why his lungs were filling with fluid. He was able to communicate with us he was feeling different inside and in more pain. He let us know this would be difficult, but it was time to let him go. He did not want to fight any longer.
It was hard to follow his wishes but would have been harder keeping him with us in the pain he was in with hopes that things would improve and possibly get his strength up to go through a major surgery that may or may not work.
We are devastated that he was taken so young, just a week before his 65th birthday. And it’s hard to understand why things happen the way they do. But we are confident in the fact we will be reunited with him.
We know he was a special friend to many of you, and we are sorry to let you know of his passing over a post. We feel a friend of his said it best, he was like a pebble thrown into a very large lake. The ripple effect of his life and ministry continues to expand and reach so many. He will be greatly missed, but what he worked for lives on.
Thank you all for your love, well wishes, prayers, meals, gift cards, GoFundMe donations, donations for parking at the hospital, picking up the grandkids from school, and emotional support whether from near or far. You are loved and appreciated.
With much love,
The Garner, Michel, and Asaadi Families
~~~~~
If you'd still like to give a gift to help cover medical expenses and passing costs for my Mom via GoFundMe there is another option via Venmo.
We are aware that GoFundMe does take a percentage of what is given, so if you feel more inclined, here is my Mom (Carolyn Garner's) Venmo handle:
@Carolyn-Garner-20
For Venmo confirmation, the last four digits of her phone # are: 9977
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*UPDATE 10/17 @ 9:15 pm* We were able to speak with my Dad, Mike Garner's doctor tonight about what's going to happen tomorrow. I have to say, it was the most encouraging news we've received this whole week, and for the first time going to bed with slightly lighter hearts. My Dad did well this weekend, as well as he could have done, there were no complications and he stayed stable (still on a ventilator, ECMO, and sedated).
They still plan to put in the Impella (miniature pump) tomorrow, Monday morning. He should be going down for surgery before 10:00 am. The surgery itself takes only 20 minutes, but the whole process could take 2-3 hours.
It’s a smaller surgery; they will make a tiny incision under the collar bone to get to an artery that goes to his heart; they insert a 3mm pump that sucks blood from the heart and pumps it into the aorta.
His doctor does not anticipate any problems and feels confident it will go well, and fully anticipates my Dad will do well with the procedure.
If he is stable after the Impella procedure, he will get taken off ECMO immediately - there is a 50% probability this will happen.
They plan to take him off ECMO soon, if not at the same time as the Impella surgery. Once he is off ECMO he will go from the red to the orange zone (in terms of risk).
They plan in 1-3 days to get him off the ventilator. Then they will wait for him to get stronger and evaluate the next steps.
So please, continue to pray throughout the night as he is still in the riskiest part of this all. We do not know the exact time of his surgery tomorrow but probably before 10:00 am. Cover him in your prayers. And if you have anyone to share his GoFundMe link with, we appreciate it.
-------------------------
*UPDATE 10/15 at 9:40 PM* For those of you who did not know, our Dad, Mike Garner, had a massive heart attack on 10/12. Here is the latest after speaking with his doctor tonight: He is in a dire condition, his heart is very weak, he’s on maximum life support right now. He will need maximum intervention, which means either a ventricular implant or a heart transplant. His body is still in a state of shock and his blood pressure is low, but this is not uncommon and can get better. On a positive note, there has been no damage neurologically, to his liver, kidneys, or lungs. He has also been able to come down on meds a little.
ECMO (the circuit he is on to rest his heart/lungs, operating as them) is designed to support people for a couple of days, so the hope is to transition to putting in an Impella device. If he continues to show improvement, the plan is to do an Impella procedure as early as Monday, 10/18.
This is a smaller surgery, they would thread a mini-pump into his heart, the incision would be in his collar bone area. The Impella can stay on for a month at a time. If the Impella procedure goes well, they plan to get him off the ventilator hopefully within a couple of days and help him get stronger until he’s ready to have a bigger surgery, (it typically takes an average person a couple of weeks to get to this point.)
If he can get the Impella and get off the ventilator he’ll be in a much better place - he should be able to talk, walk, eat, and interact with us. The survival rate will instantly go up if the Impella is successful.
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FULL STORY
Our Dad, Mike Garner, on October 12th, went to the hospital in Gilroy with what turned out to be a severe heart attack with acute blockage to the left side of his heart. He was later airlifted that day to Valley Medical Center in San Jose where he was on life support with a ventilator. His heart's function rapidly declined throughout the day to working at 25-30% of the normal. His lungs are filling with fluid because his heart is not doing its job. They were able to keep him stable with many medications and these machines.
It is with great sadness that we share with you our Dad / Husband / Father-in-Law / and Pop Pop peacefully passed away early this afternoon and is now in the arms of our Heavenly Father. He is no longer in pain, and his perfect body has been restored to be in Heaven forever.
He started to go downhill over the weekend. His fever was still going, and the team taking care of him could not figure out why his lungs were filling with fluid. He was able to communicate with us he was feeling different inside and in more pain. He let us know this would be difficult, but it was time to let him go. He did not want to fight any longer.
It was hard to follow his wishes but would have been harder keeping him with us in the pain he was in with hopes that things would improve and possibly get his strength up to go through a major surgery that may or may not work.
We are devastated that he was taken so young, just a week before his 65th birthday. And it’s hard to understand why things happen the way they do. But we are confident in the fact we will be reunited with him.
We know he was a special friend to many of you, and we are sorry to let you know of his passing over a post. We feel a friend of his said it best, he was like a pebble thrown into a very large lake. The ripple effect of his life and ministry continues to expand and reach so many. He will be greatly missed, but what he worked for lives on.
Thank you all for your love, well wishes, prayers, meals, gift cards, GoFundMe donations, donations for parking at the hospital, picking up the grandkids from school, and emotional support whether from near or far. You are loved and appreciated.
With much love,
The Garner, Michel, and Asaadi Families
~~~~~
If you'd still like to give a gift to help cover medical expenses and passing costs for my Mom via GoFundMe there is another option via Venmo.
We are aware that GoFundMe does take a percentage of what is given, so if you feel more inclined, here is my Mom (Carolyn Garner's) Venmo handle:
@Carolyn-Garner-20
For Venmo confirmation, the last four digits of her phone # are: 9977
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*UPDATE 10/17 @ 9:15 pm* We were able to speak with my Dad, Mike Garner's doctor tonight about what's going to happen tomorrow. I have to say, it was the most encouraging news we've received this whole week, and for the first time going to bed with slightly lighter hearts. My Dad did well this weekend, as well as he could have done, there were no complications and he stayed stable (still on a ventilator, ECMO, and sedated).
They still plan to put in the Impella (miniature pump) tomorrow, Monday morning. He should be going down for surgery before 10:00 am. The surgery itself takes only 20 minutes, but the whole process could take 2-3 hours.
It’s a smaller surgery; they will make a tiny incision under the collar bone to get to an artery that goes to his heart; they insert a 3mm pump that sucks blood from the heart and pumps it into the aorta.
His doctor does not anticipate any problems and feels confident it will go well, and fully anticipates my Dad will do well with the procedure.
If he is stable after the Impella procedure, he will get taken off ECMO immediately - there is a 50% probability this will happen.
They plan to take him off ECMO soon, if not at the same time as the Impella surgery. Once he is off ECMO he will go from the red to the orange zone (in terms of risk).
They plan in 1-3 days to get him off the ventilator. Then they will wait for him to get stronger and evaluate the next steps.
So please, continue to pray throughout the night as he is still in the riskiest part of this all. We do not know the exact time of his surgery tomorrow but probably before 10:00 am. Cover him in your prayers. And if you have anyone to share his GoFundMe link with, we appreciate it.
-------------------------
*UPDATE 10/15 at 9:40 PM* For those of you who did not know, our Dad, Mike Garner, had a massive heart attack on 10/12. Here is the latest after speaking with his doctor tonight: He is in a dire condition, his heart is very weak, he’s on maximum life support right now. He will need maximum intervention, which means either a ventricular implant or a heart transplant. His body is still in a state of shock and his blood pressure is low, but this is not uncommon and can get better. On a positive note, there has been no damage neurologically, to his liver, kidneys, or lungs. He has also been able to come down on meds a little.
ECMO (the circuit he is on to rest his heart/lungs, operating as them) is designed to support people for a couple of days, so the hope is to transition to putting in an Impella device. If he continues to show improvement, the plan is to do an Impella procedure as early as Monday, 10/18.
This is a smaller surgery, they would thread a mini-pump into his heart, the incision would be in his collar bone area. The Impella can stay on for a month at a time. If the Impella procedure goes well, they plan to get him off the ventilator hopefully within a couple of days and help him get stronger until he’s ready to have a bigger surgery, (it typically takes an average person a couple of weeks to get to this point.)
If he can get the Impella and get off the ventilator he’ll be in a much better place - he should be able to talk, walk, eat, and interact with us. The survival rate will instantly go up if the Impella is successful.
------------------
FULL STORY
Our Dad, Mike Garner, on October 12th, went to the hospital in Gilroy with what turned out to be a severe heart attack with acute blockage to the left side of his heart. He was later airlifted that day to Valley Medical Center in San Jose where he was on life support with a ventilator. His heart's function rapidly declined throughout the day to working at 25-30% of the normal. His lungs are filling with fluid because his heart is not doing its job. They were able to keep him stable with many medications and these machines.
We waited all day October 13th to find him a bed and ECMO Circuit (a machine that works as his heart and lungs) to give his heart a break in order to recover enough to give the doctors options such as bypass surgery or stints to be placed. Unfortunately, due to issues with health coverage, there were not many places that would take him, or they were understaffed to work the ECMO Circuit. He had no options, and that was terrifying.
Miraculously by the end of that day, a new opportunity opened up at CPMC (California Pacific Medical Center) in San Francisco. They had a bed and an ECMO and around 10:00 pm was transported by ambulance to that hospital. During this time he has stayed in stable condition, however, very critically ill.
Thursday, October 14th the team at CPMC successfully connected him to the ECMO Circuit. Since then we have been waiting as his team runs continuous labs. This next day or two we have to wait to see what the extent of the damage to his heart was, and furthermore, his options.
The doctors explained that if he makes it through this, he will not fully recover. He may be a candidate for a Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) or possibly even a heart transplant. We just don't know how this is going to turn out.
There is no way around this, this is going to be very expensive. Our parent's situation is they are going to need to front these costs before there is any chance of reimbursement. We are also unsure to what extent will be covered by insurance. The course of treatment will be upwards of $1,000,000 (and that's on a very low end).
Our ask is that you spread the word and share this GoFundMe with anyone who either knows our Dad or has a heart for the work he did in his life as a Pastor, Missionary, Counselor, and friend.
We are aware that GoFundMe does take a percentage of what is given, so if you feel more inclined, here is my Mom (Carolyn Garner's) Venmo handle:
@Carolyn-Garner-20
For Venmo confirmation, the last four digits of her phone # are: 9977
Thank you with everything that is within us,
Cari, Eric, and Heather (Mike Garner's Children)
Organizer and beneficiary
Carolyn Garner
Beneficiary