Skip to main content

The Beginning

 The Beginning...

I suppose we should start towards the beginning...well not the very beginning, but at least where this journey really started to make some waves. 

On February 17th 1995 Greg was at work in the hospital, he was a surgical nurse at Alpena Hospital. That day Greg's heart failed him right in the surgical room and he passed away quickly. There were some signs ahead of time that Greg's heart function was not well, however he was a heathy 41 year old who left this earth far too early. From there Mike was tested and found that he had Dilated Cardiomyopathy; a disease of the heart muscle that makes it hard for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body. This usually begins in the left chamber making the heart muscle stretch and thin, which makes the inside become larger than it should be. Mike had yearly visits to The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital Pediatric Heart Center. At 14 years of age his heart changed slightly but with yearly testing was holding strong and not much of a concern. 

Mike played Basketball and other sports throughout his elementary, middle, and high school years. He even played intramural basketball while at Cornerstone University. Year after year the tests came back the same and Mike was a healthy 20-30 year old. 

In 2019 at Mike's yearly checkup his doctor suggested he move to the Grand Rapids Spectrum Health Heart Clinic to be closer to home. Mike made the move after a lot of nagging from his loving wife to go to the doctor for his check up...this is where our journey now takes place.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

6 Months...180 Days...and so Many Moments Together

 2025 is going by so fast! I can hardly believe that six months have past since Mike got his heart transplant. March 7th marks half a year through this journey, and oh what a journey it has been!  Over the last couple months we have celebrated Blake's 11th birthday, my 38th birthday, and a few more birthday parties on top of those. Blake crossed over into Boy Scouts and went on his first campout with his new troop. Easton and Blake wrestled in a few tournaments where they earned some new medals, they have Regionals coming up this weekend. The boys are doing great in school and growing so fast, Blake is catching up to us all and already 5'4". While I am writing this blog tonight I had to put them back to bed three times...they are getting creative with their procrastination techniques. In the not so far future I can only imagine that they won't be coming back out to ask silly questions and want to be tucked back into bed. These times are so precious and fly by so fast. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Month 11...August

 The dreaded month of August.  When I was growing up this month became the forbidden month, the month to try and lay low. Several bones have been broken in the Foster family during the month of August and this trend has moved on to the Neubert family. For the last four years the month of August was marked with Covid, hospital visits, heart failure, and funny enough... trips to The Deck and beach in Muskegon. In 2022 Mike picked up Covid and it was taking a long time to go away. Turns out it was heart failure. We visited The Deck in Muskegon and walked the long pier out to the lighthouse. Mike couldn't even make it a quarter of the way out and had to sit down on the rocks to rest, we knew something was very wrong. Later that August and into September we found out Mike was in heart failure and he was admitted to the hospital; that began our four year journey to where we are today. In 2023 when we visited the pier Mike was listed at a level 6 on the heart transplant list. When we...
Post a Comment
Read more

Month 8

 Month 8 happens to be the busy month of May filled with fresh flower buds, mother's day, birthday celebrations, and end of the school year activities. As we transition into summer we move into memory lane. Reflecting back on the last couple months before Mike went into the hospital, the activities we did just a year ago that we are repeating again, now with the feelings, emotions, and lessons coming to light. Those memories that felt like the last at one point, are now becoming wonderful moments of treasured time spent together. As the weeks grow short and the activities seem endless take a deep breath and remember that those moments are times in history that you will never get back. Take those moments and enjoy the craziness, learn how to slow time and make the most out of every second.  This month's rejection level was 0, we have been so blessed to have these results and thank God for Mike's new heart and body to be working together. We have noticed some extra bloating a...
Post a Comment
Read more