Back on His Feet: Help Mike Pegel Walk Again
0% complete
$7,740 raised of $15K
57 donations
Mike Pegel has been in the hospital since July 31. A fall at home turned into sepsis, a bone infection, and several “limb-saving” surgeries, and he still has a long way to go before he walks again. Mike is the family’s sole breadwinner. On October 20, he and Jenna will mark their 25th wedding anniversary in a hospital room. We’re raising money to help with medical bills, lost income, insurance premiums, and the everyday costs that don’t stop in a crisis.
Hello, Mike and Jenna’s friends and family!
I’ve been lucky enough to have Jenna as a friend since 1998. In all these years, I’ve never seen anyone take care of the people they love the way she does. So if you’re reading this, I know two things are true:
You care deeply about this family and hate seeing them go through such a brutal time.
You want a practical way to help ease the incredible stress they’re under right now.
Jenna has been by his side every day
Since late July, Jenna has been at the hospital every day. She’s driven long miles on very little sleep, taken part in every medical team meeting to advocate for Mike, and fought the insurance company for the care he needs. When something hasn’t felt right, she’s pushed (always kindly and thoughtfully) until she and Mike got answers. Through it all, she has somehow kept life at home going and kept the rest of us in the loop, with more grace and humor than almost anyone could manage.
A silver anniversary in a hospital room
The timing makes this even more heartbreaking. October 20 is Jenna and Mike’s 25th wedding anniversary, a quarter-century of partnership, love, and building a beautiful family. They won’t get the celebration they dreamed of. They’ll spend the day in a hospital room, dealing with surgeries, infection treatments, and exhausting rehabilitation.
What the past few months have looked like
Mike had been dealing with hip and leg pain since February. An MRI showed he would need hip replacements someday, but not yet. Then:
- July 31: Mike falls at home and is admitted to the hospital.
- August 4: A fever, a racing heart, and fluid around his heart and lungs send him to acute care for closer monitoring.
- August 5: He develops sepsis from a staph infection and moves to the ICU. He declines quickly and loses most of his awareness.
- August 7: The third antibiotic isn’t working, and pieces of a blood clot in a large thigh vein have traveled to his lungs. During a CT scan, an unexpected allergic reaction to the contrast dye sends him into anaphylactic shock. His brain scan comes back clear.
- August 8: The fifth antibiotic finally works, and Mike is awake and talking. Two days later, he leaves the ICU.
- August 13: Blood cultures show the staph infection has cleared. That same week, his right arm stops working, and a clot turns up at an old IV site.
- August 15: An MRI finds a large abscess near his upper spine and shoulder blade. His hemoglobin drops enough that he needs a blood transfusion.
- August 19–21: Better days. A special mattress finally arrives, Mike starts getting around in a wheelchair, an MRI comes back clear, and doctors clear him for rehab.
- August 23–24: His hemoglobin drops again and he needs another transfusion. The insurance company turns the move to rehab into a fight.
- August 26: Mike moves to an inpatient rehab facility.
- September 3: After 35 days in bed, Mike stands for the first time, with the help of a standing frame.
- September 16–18: His pain gets severely worse. A CT shows extensive fractures in his pelvis and femur and a large pocket of blood in his thigh, and he’s readmitted through the ER. An MRI finds large fluid collections and abscesses deep in his muscles. He’s strictly ordered to put no weight on his legs.
- September 19: Doctors drain a fluid pocket in his thigh and place a drain tube. The fluid was the color no one wanted to see.
- Late September to early October: Mike moves to the main KU hospital campus downtown for more specialized care. There, doctors find a bone infection in his hip and femur. Surgeons remove the infected top of his femur, clear out the abscesses, and place a temporary antibiotic spacer in his hip. His doctor calls these “limb-saving” surgeries.
The road ahead
Even with that good news, the permanent hip replacement can’t happen until the infection is completely gone. The IV antibiotics, rehab, and learning to walk again will all take time. Mike faces a long and uncertain recovery, with several surgeries behind him and more ahead, and each one requires intensive care afterward. Meanwhile, the medical bills, insurance costs, and household bills keep coming, and Mike is the sole breadwinner.
The whole family is carrying this
This isn’t only happening to Mike and Jenna. Through all of this, there have been first days of high school, campus move-in days, and hospital visits squeezed in around work. All three kids are living through their dad’s hospitalization while handling their own lives: getting through high school, focusing on college classes, and building a career. That’s a lot for anyone, let alone teenagers and young adults.
Where your gift goes
We can’t fix the medical complications, but we can lighten the mental and financial load as they walk this road. All funds raised go directly to Mike and Jenna for:
Medical bills
Lost income
Insurance premiums
The everyday expenses that don’t stop in a crisis
$15,000 is our first goal, not our finish line. With more surgeries ahead and Mike unable to work, they’ll need much more, and every dollar gets them closer.
How you can help
If you’ve read this far, you clearly love Jenna, Mike, and the kids. (Who else would get this far?) Let’s put that love to work:
Give what you can.
Share this page with everyone you know.
Do both if you’re an overachiever. (We love an overachiever!)
More to come
Is this all we’re going to do? Nope. There will be more, because honestly, they’re going to need it. We’ll share updates as they come in, so stay tuned.
Thank you for being here, and thank you for supporting the Pegel family!