My name is Jenna and I’ve created this LFEBridge to help my Dad, Michael Borstelmann, pay for his medical bills and living expenses while he’s out of work. My Dad, or as his friends call him, Michael B., is known for his passion for music and his presence as a part of the local music community in North Carolina. You may have heard him play in the Duke Street Dogs, Rebecca & The High Tones, or you might have seen him behind the sound booth at the Blue Note Grill. My Dad was diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) in January of this year. Since then he’s been struggling on an uphill battle with his health declining. His primary care doctor who caught his condition, left her practice soon after his diagnosis, so he was switched to a new doctor and then a different doctor and then a different one… leading to some of his medical problems being overlooked. He was put on a bunch of medications, but his symptoms were getting worse and worse. Months passed and eventually, he was left in a bad state where he was barely sleeping at all for weeks and having severe respiratory issues. He was pushing through, still attempting to work his sound gigs and play music with his bandmates. Eventually, he went back to the doctor, concerned he had pneumonia and they gave him antibiotics and sent him home. Turns out, the full dose of the antibiotics didn’t cure him and his situation only worsened. At this point, he was struggling to breathe and was experiencing severe swelling in his legs and abdomen. My brother, Will, was doing all he could to take care of him up until this point when he knew it was imperative to get him into the hospital. On July 9th, my mom took him into the emergency room where they placed him in the Cardiac ICU and diagnosed him with Congestive Heart Failure onset by his A-Fib. He’s still there and we are very thankful that his condition is being monitored. Since being in the ICU, he’s lost over 50 lbs of fluid his body was retaining. When he was brought in his legs were so swollen that they were weeping and bleeding. Now we are thankful to see he is healing up some and finally getting the care he needs. Today he had a third attempt at a Cardioversion which is where they shock the heart to make it stop and then start again at normal rhythm. The past two times it has quickly gone back to the A-Fib state, but we are hoping that it will stay in the normal rhythm this time. If it does go back to being irregular, then he will need an Ablation surgery done to dead the nerve that’s causing his irregular heartbeat. The funds we raise here will go towards his living expenses while he is out of work and medical bills that are not covered by his insurance. Any amount you can donate, big or small, is appreciated deeply and will directly help fund his recovery. He needs support during this time when he’s unable to perform and do sound. He feels very sad not being able to play with the Duke Street Dogs and misses his work as the sound tech at his favorite local spot, the Blue Note Grill. He doesn’t know when he will be able to go back to work or if he ever will be able to be full-time again, but we are hopeful. He told me today that he feels very lucky he has had a great life full of wonderful friends. He will be incredibly grateful for any help and support he gets right now. He’s one of the few people I know that has never gotten into any social media, so I would appreciate anyone who can share this within his community. Even if you cannot donate money, a share might help it get seen by someone who can. Thank you from me, Willy B. & Dee.
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