Over the last 8 months, Michele has experienced medical and physical hardships that has made her wheelchair bound for the foreseeable future, with no clear answers as to how it started. She's spent 13 weeks in the hospital involving two major spinal surgeries, multiple procedures, 20 MRIs, and countless hours with physical and occupational therapy. Her life has drastically changed but despite being forced into these circumstances, Michele has maintained a positive attitude and optimistic outlook. However, keeping a positive frame of mind does not offset the financial burden imposed by these recent health struggles. We are asking for donations of any size to help Michele get the necessary equipment to adjust to this new normal and regain her independence during her day-to-day life. A more detailed summary of her story can be found below for those interested. Thank you for supporting Michele and our family during the last 8 months and the months to come. On October 15, 2024, Michele experienced a rush of sudden severe back pain radiating down the legs while sitting at home. She went to the ER and it was dismissed as a "bad sciatic flare-up." The following day she couldn't use her legs at all and developed a neurogenic bladder and bowel. She went 30 minutes to Grafton ER and had an MRI. They said it "looked funny in her spine" and she needed to be transferred to Milwaukee, another 30 minutes away. She was ambulanced to Aurora St. Luke's late that night. Once at St. Luke's, she would spend the next 4 weeks recovering from a spontaneous subarachnoid spinal hemorrhage, learning to walk again and overcoming a neurogenic bladder and bowel. She was discharged home and able to ambulate with a walker. A follow-up MRI diagnosed Michele with arachnoiditis with no treatment plan. By January 2024, she was able to ambulate around the house without the walker and began working again. However, her feet felt tingly. She decided to get a second opinion at Froedtert Hospital, an hour from her home. On February 23rd, Dr. Shabani at Froedtert called Michele saying he received her prior imaging and she needed to go to the ER at Froedtert to get a repeat MRI immediately. He would have to do surgery within the next 1-2 days. Michele went to the Froedtert ER that evening. From the results, the doctor did not want to wait another day and her surgery was going to be that day, Friday, February 24th. Surgery ended up being over 8 hours. He removed the arachnoid cyst as well as a lot of adhesions on T5-T11 of the spinal cord. He said it was a very difficult surgery and he had never seen anything like it. He said she had a lot of pressure and fluid in there that compressed her spinal cord. He was shocked she was even able to walk. Michele spent the next week in the hospital and then 2 weeks at Froedtert's inpatient rehabilitation hospital. She, yet again, learned to walk and overcame a neurogenic bladder and bowel. She was discharged home March 17th with the ability to ambulate with a walker and someone following close behind, as she was a little unsteady. In the weeks to follow, Michele was seeing improvements in strength and proprioception, she felt like she was slowly getting worse again in her legs. Michele had a repeat MRI that showed another arachnoid cyst just below her prior surgery. Dr. Shabani wanted to proceed with another surgery at T12. Her second surgery was scheduled for May 30th. While in surgery, another arachnoid cyst was found at T4, in addition to the one at T12. Dr. Shabani also decided to redo what he did previously from T5-T11. The surgery was another 8 hours. Dr. Shabani said it was a lot worse than the MRI showed and what he was expecting for only being 3 months after the prior surgery. He said there was a lot of compression to the spinal cord again. She spent 2 weeks in the neuro ICU followed by a week on a spinal cord injury unit. She was transferred to inpatient rehabilitation again, where she's currently spending 3 weeks learning her new normal of life in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, while being in the ICU, Michele received news that she was being let go from her job because she is unable to perform her duties at that time. She has to take Cobra insurance so she can continue to see her current providers. While Michele is able to somewhat move her legs, she has no sensation from her stomach down. Therefore, she's unable to stand on her own, cannot walk and has a neurogenic bladder and bowel. Her new normal has changed a lot, therefore, her home needs to become wheelchair friendly. Modifications to the home will include a ramp, flooring changes and handicap-friendly equipment throughout. We are hoping to raise funds to help Michele's recent expenses she will need for ramps, home improvement needs, vehicular modifications, and an increase in insurance cost. Thank you again for the flowers, cards, and well-wishes over the past 8 months. It has meant the world to Michele and her family.
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