Hello, my name is Lyle Henrickson and the happy fellow in the center of the cover photo is my brother Troy. To everyone that knows him, he was a gentle giant that always put the needs of others before his own. Troys life revolved around taking care of his family and farming. This unfortunately kept him from acquiring much wealth, savings, or steady health insurance. Although he was not rich, he never turned away from someone in need. Troy was raised to not ask for help, even though it was apparent that he sometimes survived himself one paycheck at a time. He had only recently found himself steady employment, which began allowing him to breath financially.

His medical journey started on March 6, 2022. Unknown to anyone, Troy had a birth defect where the bone between his left eye and brain never formed. Over time his brain herniated into his eye socket. The only barrier between his eye and brain was a thin membrane that had been ruptured somehow. He had begun to feel ill a few days before but didn't think much of it. That Saturday morning was unusually warm in West Michigan, and I called him to see if he wanted to do something to get out of the house. His girlfriend, who had just gotten home from work answered his phone and said he had been sick in the overnight. I told her to have Troy call me back when he got going and began running my own errands. Not long after, I received a panicked call that Troy was not responding to her questions. I told her to call 911 and drove quickly to find Troy in a confused state and not responsive. The next days are a blur as it took some time to diagnose him properly with Meningitis, causing Encephalitis. He almost immediately fell into a coma upon admission to the hospital. Debate ensued regarding his prospects for survival and recovery. Palliative care doctors would not say estimate his chances, but disregarded our families observations of responses to us. We decided to give medical treatment a chance to show us if he would respond favorably. Troy emerged from the coma 1-1/2 to 2 weeks later but was unable to speak, move, blink, or breath on his own. His prognosis was dire, but we worked with him to regain enough strength to show that he was still the brother I knew prior to the worst day in all our lives.

Basically, at this point he was quadriplegic, estimates ranged from a very short life span, permanent full paralysis, to limited motion. Troy surprised the naysayers over the next several months by getting off the vent, relearning to speak, and began to eat with assistance.

Since that time, he has been in care 24-7 which he has amassed over $30,000 in uncovered expenses. We have tried to cover this within the family but have reached a point where we are unable to make headway in this regard. Our mother is a daily figure in his life, where the rest of us do what we can to keep his spirits up and to show him that we love him and want him to return to his home on the farm. He has made steady improvement with the aid of physical therapy. However, Medicaid only covers limited service's, and we repeatedly see him make progress only to lose access to those resources. Although he doesn't lose all his gains in the weeks or months between the times he is able to receive the treatment he desperately needs, he does not move forward in a way that will allow him to come home. As time passes, his ability to recover is decreasing, which is why I'm asking for your help to pay for accrued medial debt and to keep his therapy going when the healthcare system lets him down. Any additional funds will be held in a Special Needs Trust Fund to cover needed services, supplies, and any other medical related need that he may have. If you want more detail, you may go to my Facebook page and begin reading March 7, 2022.