Mike's Medical Journey

September 1, 2021

Hi, my name is Talese. Miguel and I have been friends since we were psychology majors torturing our poor Spanish professor wayback in the early 90s at UT. I recently had an incredible visit with Mike at the hospital with my service dog, Blinkie.  Blinkie and Mike have known each other since I first got her (she is just 9 months old) Blinkie is very in tuned to Mike’s pains and they truly love each other very much, and, as you can see, it is beautiful to witness.  Mike is very sick.  He has had pneumonia eight times since January and his gut has quit functioning four times since January. He spent much of the last year in hospitals.  In large part, due to your  love and support, he has managed to keep working through it all.  It has been a real nightmare, but, as always, his spirits are in a positive place and he has been working with alternative therapies and the results are very promising.  Miguel has painstakingly rewired his brain so that he can hear, see, and remember things again.  He has been ravaged 12 times by antibiotic resistant super bugs and is now completely clean and recovered.  After years of work his mind and spirit are renewed.  He's going to fix his body which has been neglected because of the other health issues.   We know this is a hard time for everybody, and nobody is without pain and suffering at this time, but Mike is struggling especially hard. If you are in a position to help Mike financially, we will be setting up a new gofundme soon, but in the meantime, this one is still working, and although it may look like he has almost met his financial goals, the gofundme is four years old and depleted. 

He really appreciates all the support you have given him over the last several years and hopes everybody is doing well. 

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  He can be reached by contacting him here. 


Latest News March 21st 2019

Daenerys Targaryen and Mike Smith Sitting in The Tree...

Recovering from a subarachnoid hemorrhage, brain bleed  similar to the one that Emilia Clarke suffered during the filming of the first season of Game Of Thrones. Fifty percent of us die on the way to the hospital. In this video my amazing PTA, Todd Later (AKA The Spine whisperer) helped me take my first steps and is helping me recover my ability to walk! I got so excited! First steps! Unfortunately I will run out of funds to work with Todd Later at Brookdale Westlake next week unless I can get more donation support. Each day costs $350. I hate asking for help but this means everything.

To read the beautiful side of what its like to restart your brain and body check out update #10 below or follow the latest at a Facebook group page my friends set up. https://www.facebook.com/mikesmedicaljourneyupdates


Latest News (March 14, 2019)

Thank You For This Glorious Week 

Thank you for your support. All of your donations, large and small, last week have bought me another week of recuperation in a medically safe facility with amazing therapists. Without your help I would have discharged today as my insurance days had run out. I would have struggled to take care of myself in a medically vulnerable state. I have been making remarkable strides but I am weak from a year of endless hospitalizations and bouts of sepsis. Today we worked on standing. After being being bed ridden for so long and after a long recovery from being quadriplegic, standing brings in the healing sunshine of recovery. Now we have to work on getting funds for another week while I continue to work on getting better. Thank you for this week. This glorious week. Please feel to share this with people or pass this along, any help is appreciated.

Friends of Mike have set up a Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/mikesmedicaljourneyupdates/
to support him through this journey.



Latest News (March 3, 2019)***

Great news everyone! Mike is back in Austin! This is an incredible feat, as he had been trapped in and out of hospitals in the Dallas area for the last 10 months. He initially moved to Irving to attend a specialized rehabilitation center. It was the next step in the long process of recovery from a brain hemorrhage and brain stem stroke that caused him paralysis and a myriad of other medical issues. Mike has made incredible strides in recovery. During this process, however, he was stricken with antibiotic resistant infections that kept him hospitalized and in the ICU while he was in the Dallas area. Although he finally defeated the infections, it wrecked his immune system and he was hit with illnesses and complications. Blow by blow (and against all odds) he kept them at bay -- or beat them back entirely. 

Last week he had a rare stable health window to move back to Austin, where he desperately wanted to be, but his health condition required an ambulance transport only. This was costly and not covered by insurance, and he had to use the last of his funds to pay for it. He is now at a reputable skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Westlake, but he only has a few days of nursing home coverage from his insurance left for the year. If he is unable to pay privately for the skilled nursing stay, he will be forced to discharge early, a very dangerous situation for him in his critical state.

Currently he is bedridden, his immune system is getting better but is still compromised, and he is unable to take care of himself. He is at the tail end of recovering from pneumonia. On top of this, he has a freshly ruptured lumbar disc and three bulging discs in his spine which cause severe pain and immobility. His health is in a very precarious state and he urgently needs rehabilitative care to continue for at least another month. He needs your help to pay for this. 

Mike wanted more than anything to be back in Austin, closer to his family and friends, to be surrounded by loved ones in this fearsome time of hardship, and it finally happened! He is now ready and excited for short visits from friends. It is well known in the medical world that one of the most important positive indicators for healing is a strong support network -- please help Mike by donating to him in this last stretch of recovery so he can make a safe discharge home.

Friends of Mike have set up a Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/mikesmedicaljourneyupdates/
to support him through this journey.




***Original Story (December 2017)***

Our favorite warrior and friend, Mike Smith, has always fought impossible odds and powerful interests in order to help those most in need — and now Mike needs our help more than ever.

He has been fighting the good fight for almost two years, racing to overcome a life threatening congenital vascular malformation in his brain and spine, wounds that have sent him countless times to emergency rooms, intensive care units, and nursing homes. It’s an inoperable condition that has now left him paralyzed from the waist down and could kill him at any moment.

Some of you might know Mike from actor Topher Grace’s portrayal of him in the 2015 Robert Redford/Cate Blanchett movie Truth. On screen and in real life, Mike is a crusading investigative reporter who has worked directly with Dan Rather on CBS 60 Minutes, and with Molly Ivins and other luminaries and news organizations.

In one triumphant movie scene, Mike proudly gives some corporate bigwigs the middle finger as he marches out of the CBS headquarters.  It is a measure of how hard Mike has fought for the truth, whether it’s on national TV, in bestselling books, or for major magazines. Mike's work has touched countless people and movements all over the country.

As many know, Mike is never one to complain. He crusades for others long before he advocates for himself. But now, Mike needs you — in the most dire way imaginable.

Simply put, Mike is in danger of dying at any moment.

For two years against enormous odds, he has barely survived a subarachnoid brain hemorrhage, medullary brainstem stroke, encephalopathy, a spinal lesion, and a host of frightful medical issues and syndromes. He has gone from paralysis below the neck to walking with a cane, only to become paraplegic again.

Right now, he is at a very high risk of having another brain hemorrhage — and his doctors say he could easily pass away. Every day the chances of another hemorrhage increase. And right now, his last best chance is at hand.  Highly respected doctors and neurosurgeons have taken an interest in his complex medical case and after a year of testing have offered him an experimental procedure, a risky medical intervention that that might be able to heal the deadly malformation in his brain and spine.  Mike will undergo the procedure in the next week.

Because of the high risk of this procedure, no one can safely predict the outcome.  What we do know is this: Mike desperately needs friends, family and loved ones to rally for him.  His medical nightmares have had a crushing financial impact.

If you know Mike, you know how generous he is. He would never dream of asking for help, and so we’re doing it for him. Mike needs urgent help to defray expenses before and after this potentially life-saving radio surgery.

If Mike survives the procedure, the battle will linger. He could need complete physical and neurocognitive rehabilitation.  Should the brain procedure succeed, it will be followed by a surgical implantation of a medicinal pump in his spine to reduce pain and to try to walk again; to move beyond his paraplegia, hemiplegia and paralysis.

Please consider donating to this initial GoFundMe campaign for 15k for immediate and urgent expenses, which include post-operative care, continued insurance coverage, and additional medical equipment. We will be using this as a place to give you updates on Mike’s status and recovery. We are also looking for ways to help Mike build his support network, to secure medical rides, help with social media, to assist with physical therapy, and to obtain used medical equipment.

His loved ones and friends know firsthand about Mike’s race with time. They sincerely hope that you will share this link with anyone that might be willing to offer this good man a hand.

Links Below:

Mike's Medical Journey Updates Facebook Page

Learn more about Mike