Save Michael's Health
Michael has been experiencing health issues for a number of years now. A month after I (Sarah) had my first seizure, Michael had his first seizure. We would later discover that part of why we began having seizures and severe neurological issues was due to the toxic mold we lived in and the damage it causes.
THE MASSIVE WEIGHT LOSS
Fast forward to 2020, and Michael goes from a healthy weight to dropping 30 lbs. in a matter of months. He started experiencing severe gastrical issues and then other unusual symptoms such as chronic pain behind his eyes, itching skin, feeling like battery acid was poured on his brain, and a whole slew of other symptoms. Although he had seizures that were caused by the mold prior to his weight loss, his seizures worsened in frequency and intensity.
He was admitted to the hospital with a severe seizure that caused him to convulse on the ground, knocking his head onto the wood floor multiple times. The ER doctor said he went into Todd's Paralysis where he was unable to move or speak for a period of time. This temporary paralysis has happened to Michael more times than I can count after his seizures.
To be completely honest with you, I'm scared out of my mind whenever he has these really bad spells, especially since I feel like my hands are tied with getting him good medical help.
LAST NIGHT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Last night changed everything in my heart to where I realized we have to do something and NOW or else I could lose him. This was my account from last night:
I woke up feeling disturbed and realized Michael wasn't next to me, so I meandered to the bathroom and found him sitting on the toilet with the lid closed.
It was clear he was anguished with pain. He rubbed the back of his head and said, "It feels numb and so swollen."
He went to stand on his feet as he continued to describe his concern for the pain, and said, "I feel like I'm dying." He started to stagger with his arms catching himself against the wall. His eyes went from looking normal to shifting to enlargened pupils to the point where I could barely see the colored rim of his eyes. (In all my encounters with Michael's issues, I had never seen him look quite like that). He looked like a zombie, a barely-there human.
I helped him lower to the ground to sit on the floor and then, I woke up my mom as I do on almost all of these occasions. As a confession: I can't handle these moments by myself with him emotionally or physically (lifting his limp body), so I almost always try to get my parents as reinforcements.
Right after I came back from waking my mom in a panic, he began to convulse and lost control of his body to where his head was on the trajected path to meeting the door and worse, the tile floor. I lunged my body at his and caught his head. Somewhere in this time, I gave him a PRN medication for seizures and I began fiercely praying over him.
I will tell you, you don't know how much you love someone until you're faced with a situation like this one where you know you very well could lose them. I yelled at him to stay with me and I continued praying fervently over his brain.
I made it known to his limp, unconscious body that if he wasn't going to talk to me soon, I would call 911. 
So I did, and off to the hospital he went after countless trips before. He told me once I arrived at the hospital to meet him that, "I can't mess around anymore. I've got to take care of this or else I'm not going to be here. I felt far away again from my body. I know that your prayers tethered me to my body and to this earth. I can't keep living on the edge like this."
WE *HAVE* TO DO SOMETHING
I've had a very difficult time getting Michael the medical attention he desperately needs.
We've been told he needs to...
*See a neurologist
*Get scans done
*Get a colonoscopy
*Get a stool test conducted
*See a Gastroenterologist
*Get IV therapy since one doctor says he's done all he can and that was his recommendation
But since we only have Medicaid, our options have been limited. I've been working with an imaging place since AUGUST to try to get scans for his brain.
I also discovered that the closest specialist that he needs is 4 HOURS away from us! (Neither of us can drive anyways because of our seizure disorders.) When I look up our medical plan with the specialists, it deceptively looks like we have doctors in our area. Then I looked closer and realized the address was on the other side of the state and the ones who truly ARE local were listed on our plan by mistake.
We've had so many closed doors with even getting Michael into basic doctor's appointments to gain answers to find out why Michael's facing newly worsening medical issues this past year. If you're a person of prayer, PLEASE pray for open doors medically--to find answers and to find solutions.
IF WE DON'T ACT SOON...
I remember Michael telling me last year that he had a knowing that if he didn't act soon with his health, he would no longer be on this earth. Given the seizures I've seen over the past year, this seems all too much of a real possibility. 
Michael's physician encouraged the idea of a fundraiser and wrote this letter that she told me I could use on GoFundMe explaining his complex medical issues and his need for more testing.
THE FUNDRAISING AMOUNT WILL COVER
This first initial fundraising amount will cover:
-6 appointments from 3 different specialists (a Neurologist, a Gastrointeralist, and a doctor from Amen Clinic that specializes in brain disorders)
-A scan of Michael's brain which should clue us into why he's experiencing such intense seizures and how to remedy it
-2 visits to his primary care physician
-stool test that will hopefully shed some light on his drastic weight loss and dramatic change in gut health.
******I plan on updating this fundraiser to a new goal amount once we have more answers as to what's going on as well as the recommended treatment protocol from doctors. *******
Again, this is phase one in helping Michael with his health and wouldn't include the treatments that are recommended.
If any fundraising goes beyond the amount raised, it will be used to cover needed doctor-advised supplements and medications, and further doctor's appointments as well as treatments and travel expenses for any location that we may have to give someone gas money to take us to his appointments.
OUR FUTURE
As many of you know, we are building up a 501(c)(3) non-profit that helps conduct digital conferences and also helps the displaced church participate in a church service that they wouldn't normally be able to participate in. We've also developed a business side of our non-profit that helps for impact organizations with their marketing and design endeavors. We have been working hard at our dreams, but I want to make sure Michael is healthy enough to work. For those who pray, please pray that God grows what he's placed on our hearts and that health is provided long-term to make these endeavors possible and please pray for a flourishing of health to take place.
