Please help with Mike's road to recovery
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- Hello my name is Stacey Smith daughter of Michael Johnson, one of the strongest men I know. I am organizing this fundraiser for my father. This man has always been an inspiration to me and his family. He is a hard worker, loving husband, and loving father. He is the father to 3 daughters, a grandfather to 7 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren. He has lived his life with positivity, heart, and pride. He has always been there for everyone in his life including family, friends, and his coworkers. He is the kind of man that will give you the shirt off your back or try and make a joke to put a smile on your face. He has always been there when anyone has ever needed him. Now it's time for him to need a little help in return and I am trying to help him by setting up this gofundme for him. He is not one to ask for help from others because he is a giver and not a taker . He feels everything will work itself out. I tried to tell him it's okay to ask for a little help and no matter how many times I tell him that, he just rolls his eyes and changes the subject. He spends his days working hard and still finds the time to be an amazing husband, father, and friend. On the night of April 21st he was rushed to Central Baptist Hospital due to severe chest pains . He had an appointment on April 22nd to see his heart doctor but unfortunately never made it to his appointment. After recieving an MRI, cat scan, and intense testing, it was found that he had a major heart attack. There were also many other factor that were found and his heart was only working at 10% because of a 90% blockage of an artery in his heart. There were also many other blockages found in many arteries throughout his body and organs. They also found that his brain was covered in aneurysms. On top of these findings he also suffers from Chrones disease. At the time of these findings they had talked about an open heart surgery or another option of putting a stint in his heart to reroute the blood around the blockage. Unfortunately his body was to weak and fragile for the open heart surgery and they said that if they were to perform surgery for the stint he would most likely die on the table. So they had come up with another option until his body could get stronger for the open heart. This option was to surgically put in a device that work pump the blood through his heart for him and make his heart work again but this would only be a temporary solution. Its not a heart pacer but another device with a really long medical name I can not pronounce. In doing this procedure he would have survived only to be put in a medically induced coma and a ventilator to breath for him while being on bed rest until they could figure out a more permanent solution. So today is now April 25th and the day of his surgery which was performed at 7:30am and the Doctors said while they have him opened up they are going to also determine if they can add a stint to his heart without him dying on the table before attempting to put the device in. Four hours later we were told the whole family needed to come back, the doctor needed a word with us. Of course we all panicked because it just never sounds good when the doctor asked for the whole family. When we arrived to his room, we notice he was back in his room with a sly smile on his face because he survived the surgery. Not only did he survive but they were able to perform the stint surgery and his heart was above the 10% function. Of course him being the worker he is, he seriously thought he was going to be released to come home in a few hours and would be able to return to work first thing Monday morning. That's my father for you Anyways they had to break it to him this is just the first step to his long road of recovery and although they had taking care of the main priority being his heart and the blocked artery, he still has the many blocked arteries and many brain aneurysms that are going to need adressed. Although he beat the odds today he still has a ways to go. This just shows how truly strong this man is and how strong prayers can be. We are hoping his heart will be strong enough to be able to go home in a few days and start his recovery. The doctors recommended he be admitted into a rehabilitation center which is his decision but of course he is stressed of the financial burden that comes with him recovering or even going to this facility. This facility will strengthen his chances of living and help him to recover. With his recovery, he will need to focus and of course not stress. Stress is a big key factor on how his body will handle the remaining blockages and most important the several brain aneurysms because stress can cause many complications especially for the brain aneurysms and possible stroke or heart attack. Please help me help him recovery with minimum stress and worries. He is a family man and a hard worker and we need him to take care of himself and hope he will make the right decision in going to this rehabilitation center because the financial stress of doing so is my biggest worry that the stress will cause him not to go and try and rush back to work. Unfortunately everyone is struggling with the cost of living being so high and I know everyone can relate to worrying about your family and finances as well as having an income coming in to be able to support your family , pay your bills, and put food on the table. With this being said we understand the times are hard and we understand if you can't donate or if you can only donate $1 or $10. Honestly any amount helps and if your not able to donate even a dollar, that's okay too. For any of you Just to be able to send prayer is blessing and greatly appreciated. Thank you all if you took the time to read this insanely long story explaining my father's hardship and situation in this time of need. God bless all of you and thank you so much for your time.
Organizer
Stacey Smith
Organizer
Georgetown, KY