Mike Riley Hurt His Back-Support His Rehab
Hi-- My name is Brook Dougherty. My Godson is Mike Riley. If you know me at all, you know how much love there is in my heart for him. We have come a long way together from our first meeting five years ago to now. If you don't know who Mike is, he's the producer and host of The USA Podcast, and Chief Diversity Officer at Genius Brands. When Mike injured his back, I assumed he would get better. But he didn't. NOTHING has worked. It's been been six months. You can read his story below. Short version: Mike is in excruciating, scary pain. He called me the other night, and I could tell he was crying. Absolutely not okay. He's in so much agony he can't even host his show, and his day job needs him especially right now, but it's hard to give 100% when you can barely walk.
Mike has spent a chunk of money already, and you know he isn't going to do a Go Fund Me for himself. With his permission, I'm hosting this drive. Why now? Because now he has someone who can do the spinal decompression he needs. I know this practitioner personally. Were it not for him, my daughter would have had hip surgery in high school. He's seen the images, read the notes, seen Mike, and gets it. But it's not free. Why didn't Mike see this guy earlier? Because we thought surgery was where he was going.
Enough said. Here is a link to Mike's show. We need to keep hearing what he has to say. Below is what I asked Mike to write when I told him he had to let me find the money for his treatment, and I didn't care if it embarrassed him. Lots of people have staggered under medical bills.
Hello Everyone,
My name is Mike Riley, I live in Los Angeles CA.
About 6 months ago, on November 28, I got out of bed and began coughing. For some reason, when I coughed, I felt my entire lower back go out from under me. It felt like someone took a sledgehammer and literally hit me in my lower back. It was extremely painful.
I thought the pain was temporary, but after about a week of being on my back in bed all day long my back was still in agonizing pain. I went to an urgent care where they gave me a couple of shots and sent me on my way. The doctor there told me I should be back to normal in about 48 hours. But the pain got worse.
After about a month, my pain started to go from my lower back and extend into my left leg. There is a sharp stabbing pain going down my left leg and my left foot often goes completely numb. I usually walk around hopping on one foot and dragging the other, so it does not make contact with the floor. It feels like my left foot is full of sand and glass. Often times when I step down on my foot it shoots a burning and painful sensation through my entire body.
When I went to see my doctor, an MRI discovered that I have a herniated disc in my lower lumbar area of my spine, and it is pushing up against a nerve which is the reason for my pain. I went to a spinal surgeon at Cedars Sinai who suggested that I may need surgery on my lower back, however he told me to use this as a last resort and to seek out other ways to heal first.
Over the past 6 months I have had 3 steroid injections, physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic work and I have spent countless money on remedies that I was told would help with the pain including ice packs, heating pads, a new mattress and a myriad of different medications. My pain has not subsided at all.
I've been living in chronic pain for the last six months of my life and I cannot tell you how miserable it has been making me. Every day I pull it together to go to work, but I can no longer do any of the physical activities that I used to do including working out and hiking. I can't spend a lot of time with my friends because they have to constantly see me in agonizing pain. It is hard to go to the grocery store or anywhere else. I live alone as well so having to do things for myself through all of this pain has made it even more excruciating.
The chronic pain has also been affecting my mental state. My anxiety and depression got so bad that without me even saying anything, the doctors at Cedars Sinai had a social worker call me. They noticed the depression I am feeling over this pain. The worst part is not knowing how much longer I have to deal with this.
I've gone to numerous treatment centers that seemed like they were more interested in getting my money than helping me heal. Not to mention most of these spinal decompression centers I have gone to do not accept medical insurance and make you pay upfront out of pocket. As you can imagine these places are nowhere near cheap. One place said that they can definitely fix me, but it would cost me $9000.
Through God's grace and through my God Mother, I was introduced to practitioner, Gabe Luban, founder of Rapid Relief. https://rapid-relief.com The recommendations I’ve received from the four people I know he has healed have been 100% positive.
Gabe outlined a treatment plan and sent me home with a kit to begin doing what I can at home. In order to get myself fully recovered and back to normal, I will need a few months of intensive therapy with Gabe. I have not felt normal in 6 months, and this is probably the first time I have looked forward to something within that time.
I'm dealing with $4,000 of medical bills I already have received because of my back. But I have no insurance for what Gabe does.
I am reaching out to anyone who would be willing to chip in to help me pay for the treatment that I need. I am not the type of person to ever ask for any help or charity, but I want to resume my life, my job, my podcast, my friendships more than I am embarrassed to ask for help.
Thank you for your support.