Support Mike Kunkel's Medical Journey

Hi everyone, as some of you may not know, my Step Dad, Mike Kunkel, has been in the hospital for about 10 days.

About 3 weeks ago, Mike suddenly started feeling ill and tired out of the blue. He developed Jaundice and some other concerning symptoms. Syringa told him he had a serious liver condition but couldn’t pin down what was actually going on and referred him to a GI doctor.

To speed up the treatment process, we brought Mike to St Luke’s ER in McCall. They immediately transferred him to St. Luke’s in Meridian. He’s been receiving treatment from a team of GI doctors there. They are struggling to find a definitive reason why his liver is not working well. He recently had a liver biopsy that was sent to the Mayo Clinic. We're still waiting for the results from that. Hopefully, that will give a definitive answer, but for now it’s a waiting game.

Since Mike's initial ER visit, he has been steadily declining. His bloodwork has been poor, and we aren’t seeing any meaningful improvement.

This morning we learned that Mike's kidneys are struggling to compensate for his failing liver. St Luke’s decided it would be best to transfer him to Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City. He was transferred tonight, August 1st. As of right now, we are just waiting for test results, and Mike is being treated with steroids and being kept comfortable.

This year has been a financially troubling time for Mike & Wendy. Mike lost his job last year due to his disability - an extremely rare genetic disorder called Fragile X Associated Tremor Syndrome. Mike's disability payments and his Medicare have not kicked in yet - making the last 8 months or so a troubling time financially. Sudden medical bills and an unknown length stay in Salt Lake are just going to add to stress that they don’t need to worry about right now.

I have spoken with mom about the financial burden that this situation will put them in. Your donations will help take the edge off of the financial situation this will put them in.

We don’t know how long Mike could be in Salt Lake for, mom will be staying in a hotel, and the fuel, food, and other associated costs are a burden that I would like to take off of their shoulders.

My mom, and my siblings Heather, Taylor, & Kelsey will be joining Mike soon in Salt Lake to help navigate the healthcare system and give Mike some much needed love and support.

Thank you everyone for the love, prayers, and thoughts that you are sending towards our family. They mean the world to us. I will try to periodically update this GoFundMe posting with updates on Mike’s condition.