Tragic Loss...Gone Too Soon

Mike St.Croix was the husband of my best friend Rachel and had just turned 53 years old. Mike was a loyal husband to Rachel and a proud Dad to his three wonderful children, Michael, Cam and Alyssa. Mike was always doing a project of some kind, he was a man of few words, yet he was very funny when he had something to say. He worked hard to provide for his family and he was genuinely an all around great guy. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for his family or friends!

He and Rachel had just celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary on Saturday, June 20th where they spent all afternoon and evening at the hospital. Mike was suffering with significant pain in pain and was having difficulty breathing. The hospital told him he had a pulled muscle, they gave him some Tylenol and a lidocaine patch and sent him home in the early morning of June 21st, Father’s Day.

Mike’s pain and trouble breathing had not subsided and he became unresponsive approximately 12 hours later at home in mid conversation with Rachel and Cam. Rachel desperately performed CPR until EMT’s arrived. They tried to revive him using a defibrillator and continued the effort all the way to the hospital, to no avail. Mike was pronounced dead at the hospital at 6:06 PM and just like that my best friend of almost 40 years became a widow at the age of 49, and Michael my Godson, Cam and Alyssa all became fatherless on Father’s Day.

In the beautifully poetic words that Cam wrote for his Dads service; they show his fathers very brave, silent and painful battle with cancer that he never once complained about:  “Beep beep, beep. An alarm clock flashes on and breaks the darkness of early morning. All is silent except for the careful thuds of footsteps creaking on the oak floor boards underfoot. The floorboards creak like his bones and the sky glows a gentle orange like the pain that summers through his body. It is a silent struggle, only evident in his scars. He starts his engine and rolls down the street before the birds start to find their morning songs. It’s the sacrifice he makes to keep food on the table and to see his daughter’s smile.........”

I’ve started this GoFundMe to help relieve some of the financial burden for Rachel, Michael, Cameron and Alyssa in regards to the bills that come with such an unexpected tragic death such as burial expenses, medical bills and losing the main income for the household.

Please consider donating, I want to be able to relieve some stress for Rachel and the kids. No amount is too small. Thank you.