Support Michael's Stroke Recovery

Hi, my name is Miranda and I am creating this GoFundMe for my brother-in-law Michael (Mikey K), who recently suffered a life-altering stroke.

On August 16th (it actually started on August 15th, with some confusion and personality changes) Michael suffered a stroke on the left side of his brain. Micheal didn’t realize what was happening, instead, he thought his phone was broken so he drove himself to Verizon, where he was unable to move or talk. His brother Josh was called, who in turn called 911 and met the ambulance there. Micheal is such a strong guy that he kept passing the field stroke tests, but it was clear that something was not right. He was transported to the Vassar hospital where after about 6 hours, was diagnosed with what was considered at the time a mild stroke. He could be understood, though talking was difficult, and he still had strength in his arm, but not use of his hand, and he couldn't stand up or walk.

Unfortunately, the actual stroke took about 3 days to resolve so the next day he was much worse. He lost all use of his right arm and leg, and that day speech was almost impossible. It became clear that it was actually a significant stroke, on the left side, deep in his brain. No medication or operation was possible to help.

While he was in the ER, he also tried to get out of bed on his own and fell, the next day we realized he fractured a vertebrae in the fall :(

After a week in the hospital stabilizing his blood pressure, and running many tests, he was moved to an acute rehab facility where he stays and they perform PT every day. Currently, we are told he should be in there for a month, but we are hoping for longer if he continues to show improvement, but it all depends on insurance companies.

The stroke has caused life-altering damage, leaving Michael unable to walk with loss of movement in his right side leg and no movement in his right arm. He also has some speech impairment, especially when tired or trying to say too much.

He is working hard to regain what is lost, and we are all very hopeful that with the proper care, he will continue to improve. Keeping his spirits high, and reminding him that he is still here and that is the most important thing, is very important right now.

If you know Mike, you know he is full of life, and always taking care of everyone else - it's the most important thing to him to make sure everyone has what they need. It's going to be a long road to recovery, and he will need home care for (right now) an undetermined amount of time. He is a single man, and won’t be able to live on his own (for a while at least), and will need modifications to where he does live to accommodate his needs.

He is going to have medical bills, rehab costs, and equipment needs, so we are starting this GoFundMe page to help with the pressure of that. He also has his own gluten-free baking business which we are trying to keep going for him while he recovers.

Since he is a chef, we don't know what the future will hold, and if he will be able to go back to his passion of cooking amazingly delicious food. There are a lot of unknowns, and Michael still has a long life ahead of him, he is in his 50s. He is also one of the strongest and most resilient people I know, so if any can do it, Michael can!

If you know Michael well, please feel free to send him an encouraging text message. He has his phone and can read messages. He may not respond, or just send back an emoji (because that's the simplest thing he can do right now) but he will appreciate your thoughts. Please don’t send questions to him yet, he can't respond as he wishes, and it stresses him out.

Funds in this campaign will go strictly to Michael's recovery and needs during this time, and any contributions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all for any help you can offer, we understand that the economy is also very difficult right now. With your generous help, we are so hopeful Michael we will be back to living life with joy again.