Mike Rea's Recovery Info & Updates

Mike's family created this blog to acknowledge our heartfelt appreciation for all your thoughts, prayers, and well wishes since his accident. Please check back regularly for updates on his condition and recovery process. We know all of you will keep Mike and his family in your prayers!

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Location: Newark, Delaware

On June 16, 2006, Mike was doing what he loves most in the world~training a race horse! One minute, friends saw him go by at a full gallop. Thirty minutes later, he was found unconscious and barely breathing. Mike endured an emergency helicopter ride to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Unit where doctors determined he had suffered a severe brain injury and was placed in ICU in critical condition. After three weeks, Mike was transferred to Kernan Rehabilitation Center, then Sunbridge Care and Rehabilitation. He returned home in October ‘06 and continues to work on his recovery. We have experienced much hope and joy as we have witnessed Mike's miraculous journey towards recovery. Mike IS A MIRACLE (the exact words of his neurologist) and continues to surprise his health care providers. Mike faces each day with courage, faith and perseverance; his new job consisting of physical therapy and theraputic riding. Mike is currently undergoing Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and is experiencing great progress! FOR THOSE WHO HAVE OFFERED ASSISTANCE, A "MIKE REA RECOVERY RELIEF FUND" HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED TO HELP WITH MIKE'S MEDICAL AND DAILY NEEDS.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Water Therapy Starts Tomorrow

Hello everyone. First off, our prayers continue for the magnificent Barbaro. He has had another set back and he really needs everyone's prayers.

I talked with Mike Friday and today. Again he sounds good and is very excited about starting his water therapy. This is really suppose to help with his balance and walking recovery. He still uses his cane but could hardly wait to tell me that he walked without it around his family room(den). It says he has to go really slow but did do it without his cane.

What I love and admire so much about my brother is how hard he keeps trying to recover and overcome everything. He will never give up I know. Ya'll watch. He'll be walking before the one year mark is up. Let's see, it has now been 7 months since his accident. Mikey said that it really irritates him that sometimes his legs and arm just won't do what he asks them to do. But he doesn't let it get him down thank God.

Nancy and Mercy have sent everything back in to Extreme Home Makeover and we are patiently awaiting to hear back from them again. The casting director said we had plenty of time and what will be will be. Well I'll go with that. Just remember to Believe. God bless everyone.

WE BELIEVE IN MIRACLES
WE BELIEVE IN BARBARO
WE BELIEVE IN THE FANS OF BARBARO
WE BELIEVE IN EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER
WE BELIEVE IN MIKE REA

Monday, January 22, 2007

YES IT WAS REAL!!! YES IT WAS TRUE!!!

Hello everyone. Well it is time to start thanking God and everyone for answered prayers. When I blogged last about Mercy (Fan of Barbaro and dear friend) and her angel powers I wasn't kidding. A casting director from Extreme Makeover Home Edition (EMHE) left a comment on our blog wanting an email contact to contact about Mike. So at first we thought it was just a joke because it has happened before to be just a hoax. But then Nancy decided to go ahead and leave her email address there for them. So I say again that YES IT WAS REAL AND TRUE. He told Nancy that he had heard about Mike and his story and wanted her to send everything again to him directly. He also wanted to know what Mike was like now - today. He was very interested in knowing Mike still wanted to help people and horses. So...........Please continue your prayers and we will let you know what happens next. Nancy and Mercy are putting together another packet with updated information and are deciding on if we need to do some other things to really get this going.

I have talked to Mikey and he is very excited about all of this but would love to get back to the horses as soon as possible. He even said training race horses again. I said, "Yeah from the ground." Meaning he would be standing on the ground while telling someone else what to do with the horse. Then he said, "No Cathy riding them again. " Well I fused a little bit and just had to drop that conversation topic. So then I asked about his therapy. I had told ya'll about him pushing the grocery cart and doing so well with that. He still uses the legged cane and has problems with his balance. The therapist want to find a pool that Mikey could do exercises in and try some swimming. They say it helps a lot with balance too. They are also looking at some therapeutic horse riding which really helps with a persons balance. He has come so far and is doing well. Brain injuries just take time to heal and he still is going to have his ups and downs just like Barbaro.

Well I just wanted to let everyone know what's been going on. Especially with EMHE. We love you all and God bless you all.

We Believe in Miracles
We Believe in Barbaro
We Believe in the FOBS
We Believe in EMHE
We Believe in Mike Rea

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

More Good News

Hello everyone. I know it has been awhile since the last time I blogged but with my back going out and trying to get back to work, well it has been something. All in all things are going well with everyone (Mother, Nancy, Me, and Mike and his family). Mikey called Mother and I a couple of days ago and I was going to blog then but I really had a lot of studying to do to pass the Neonatal Resuscitation Program. It has been nearly 7 months since I had to resuscitate an infant, but I passed with flying colors. Thank God. So Mikey sounded extremely well and happy. He says that he is still progressing but just wishes that it was faster. His physical therapy group went on a field trip to the grocery store for practice. Mikey said it was a lot easier to push the shopping cart around instead of using his cane. He is now using the four legged prong cane only that I am aware of. He had a dentist appointment and everything was good and then an eye appointment and only needed prescription reading glasses. You know how it is when you get past 40 years old? Boy I thought I was going blind. I couldn’t read the newspaper or vials of medicines.

The biggest reason I blogged tonight was to copy and paste this fabulous email from Mercy Turano. She is one of the Fans of Barbaro but has also become a dear friend to us. I think she is really one of those Guardian Angels that was sent by God to watch over Mikey and try to help him with his recovery. Mercy is the one who started Mikey's Extreme Home Makeover Nomination first. So here is what this wonderful Angel is doing for my loving brother and his family:


Hey Guys,
I want to tell you about my weekend - it was Mike Rea from beginning to end. Being that Extreme Makeover was doing a house in my backyard literally (10 miles away) I had to take advantage of the situation. So I started early Friday morning trying to update and rework Mike's Extreme Makeover nomination and add some new info and still put it all in one page...of course, the computer wouldn't cooperate - something screwy with the printer. But I really wanted to download Mike's picture with the two horses so I could make thank you cards out of them and I kept trying - but the color was totally off. Anyway, I nixed that idea and went out to get blank thank you cards.

At the store, I found these horses about 10" long that were a dead ringer for Barbaro with a saddle and a red blanket, so I bought 9 of them along with 11 boxes of assorted English shortbread cookies - wrapped those up in red paper and then put the Barbaro horse on top tied with raffia. I wrote on the thank you card (this was Mary Dubbink's idea) "Compliments of Mercy Turano, Friends of Barbaro and The Mike Rea Makeover Posse thanking each of the Extreme Makeover designers for taking the time to read about Mike Rea and for all the good work they perform and that I hoped to see them soon in Mike Rea's backyard." Their Executive Producer, Denise Cramsey got a stuffed Barbaro horse along with the cookies and Ty Pennington, being their "alpha dog" got the cookies along with a stick horse that also looks just like Barbaro, complete with horsey sounds. It took me practically all day to shop, wrap and get the letters done - I stuffed the "one pager on Mike " inside the thank you cards and also put an additional one tied to the Barbaros' legs (for additional leg support, HA!) on the outside of the package for good measure .

I finished just in time to meet my husband at the book store where Paige (the cute blonde, Extreme Makeover designer with the pink hard hat ) was signing her book. Of course, I had to buy one so I could get up close and personal and deliver the goodies. But it was really a great avenue - very intimate, only about 40 people, she's extremely personable, answered questions, chatted and was just a delight.

I was able to go up and talk to her briefly about Mike - she did ask about the horse on the package and of course, I went into the Barbaro connection. I had put everything in one big shopping bag and asked her to deliver to the rest of the gang. She was very gracious and said she most definitely would give it to them and that she would read Mike's story, so I hope at least one of them will read it .

THIS IS IMPORTANT - she did say that the one thing that impresses them is when a community rallies behind the person and they get a lot of nominations...go figure, early on we thought bombarding them would have the opposite effect and as a result, it was decided that Nancy should just sent in one main application with all the letters from the FOBs inside. But you know, we can't worry about that now...what's done is done and we've given it our best shot. I had originally planned on taking them Kryspy Kreme donuts but had to nix the idea 'cause when I called their manager again to place my order, he told me that they had already delivered 25 boxes to them EARLY that morning ....they STOLE my idea... oh, well...hopefully, all's well that ends well and I hope we're on our way to that Extreme Makeover for Mike!!!!

Should we rethink our strategy and bombard them - or as the Beatles would say...."Let it Be, Let it Be"???

Mercy



See what I mean everyone. So now hopefully we will be hearing some more from the Extreme Home Makeover crew.

Maybe we all should start emailing them or something. I'm going to ask Nancy and Mercy if they have any email address and I will let everyone know it.

Barbaro had a set back with his hoof but seems to be over coming it well. Just like Mikey they both will continue with their recoveries because of who they are: Champions and Heros. God bless everyone.

WE BELIEVE IN MIRACLES, WE BELIEVE IN THE FANS OF BARBARO,

WE BELIEVE IN BARBARO, WE BELIEVE IN EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER,

WE BELIEVE IN MIKE REA

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

No Wheelchair

Hello everyone. I’m going to try to fix something that my sister, Nancy accidentally posted about Mikey on Dec. 30th, 2006. First off we don’t talk to Mikey that much anymore. It is very tiresome for him to talk on the phone and his family is always so busy doing things. Nancy didn’t realize that Mikey wasn’t using his wheelchair anymore. From what Mikey has said tonight, he hasn’t used his wheelchair for about a month now. What wonderful news to hear that he doesn’t use the wheelchair at all. We are so sorry for posting incorrectly. I myself from being in his home know it was very hard to maneuver in the house with a wheelchair and it was also very hard to get the wheelchair in and out of my car for Mikey. So knowing this I think it pushed Mikey to use his walker more and more. Plus his physical therapy, prayers, and God all have a lot to do with this also. It has always been known to us that Mikey pushes himself hard and is trying so hard to make a full recovery. He told me that he uses a cane with little legs on it mostly, especially in his home. Then he uses a walker when out and about. It has been 6 ½ months now since his tragic accident and he has come so far that I don’t think he even realizes it himself.

Again I have to thank everyone so much over and over again. Please continue with your prayers and thoughts for Mikey. God bless everyone.

We Believe in Miracles, Barbaro, Fans of Barbaro, and Mike Rea

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