Hi Everyone and thank you for taking the time to visit this page for my Brother Michael. If you have a few spare minutes please read Michael's story, Follow us on social media, Share and donate if you can.

Michael was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour in 2018 and following surgery has unfortunately has been left Severely disabled, he is fully ventilator dependant, unable to talk, walk, eat and so on.

We have all been so overwhelmed by the kindness of our local community, family, friends, businesses and even strangers these last 8 weeks. We started Michael's Journey to home 8 weeks ago to show our Family adapting and renovating the house that Michael will call home, We never expected it to get to where we are today. We cant thank everyone enough who has helped with our Journey so far and we cant wait for you to be part of it in the future!

This page has a target of £2, mostly because it wouldn't allow me to put £0. This page is for anyone wishing to donate to Michaels Journey to home further from the fundraiser for Michael's eye gazer equipment which is now in the process of being ordered. The money raised will be used to adapt and renovate the property for Michael's use. Funds will also be used for Michael's general quality of life when he comes home, For example, Any further equipment Michael may require, Specialist Physio and anything further required to make Michael comfortable and to have that amazing quality of life he so desperately deserves.

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If you haven't already read Michael's full story as previously posted, you can read it here below kindly written by Michael's Friend Nik:

Michael is my older brother by just 18 months, in 2018 Michael was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour called a Hemangioblastoma following initial symptoms of a buzzing in his ears, alongside nausea and sickness. The doctors at the time said that due to his age (28) he would require a scan. The initial scan shown a “nodule” on the back of his head and was of little concern. It was sent to the Walton centre to analyse and they found it to be a risk factor. On the 17th of July, it was then diagnosed as a Hemangioblastoma, this is a vascular tumour that can occur in the brain or brain stem. It is very rare and only accounts for about 2% of brain tumours.

Just prior to his surgery Michael started to experience severe headaches which was explained to him as the final symptom prior to potential death, if intervention did not occur, possibly from a haemorrhage or stroke, this indicated that surgery was now an imminent need.

Here is a photo of Myself and Michael at my wedding just 4 weeks before his operation to remove the tumour.

The date of Michael's surgery was the 18th September 2018, he was in surgery for over 16 hours. Following the surgery, he went immediately to intensive care.. Michael was in intensive care from September 2018, all the way until February 2020.

Michael Pictured with our Parents Roger and Margaret in Feb 2020, after 506 days in intensive care.

After the surgery, his family was informed was that 95% of the tumour was removed, and that there was a potential chance of the remaining 5% re-growing. Initially after surgery Michael began to show some signs of recovery, regaining some function in his arms and legs. He was also able to communicate very little, but could nod and shake his head slightly. However, at this point there was more complications, which started in November with Hydrocephalus, this involves an abnormal build-up of fluid within the brain. They informed his family that Michael had always had hydrocephalus however this had gone undiagnosed for the duration of his life. When this fluid build-up occurred Michael became fully numb, which progressed to him becoming paralyzed, his ears was also constantly ringing, alongside being close to losing his vision. This was treated by fitting shunts and drains which then caused excessive draining, resulting in severe seizures. During this time Michael was involved in over 6 invasive operations on his head. At one point he had his final operation in which we were informed the chances of him surviving it was very slim. This was a very challenging night for Michael's friends and family.

Upon the outcome of the final surgery that Michael undergone, Michael was left with very serve and likely permanent symptoms. Over the past year Michael has improved marginally in some areas, however his current challenges are as follows. Michael is fully ventilated with a Tracheostomy, this is 24 hours a day, Michael can come off for around one hour per day, which is just for a safety net in case the ventilator was to break, to allow time for repair or a new fitting. Alongside this the use of the ventilator significantly lowers his life expectancy, in addition to preventing him being be able to speak, drink or eat food. As a result of the surgery Michael can also not close his eyes due to him developing Bells palsy. This has caused issues with his vision, alongside ulcers in his eyes. It also causes a weakness and lack of movement on both sides of his face. Michael is unable to create facial expressions, express emotion, or close and move his mouth in anyway. One of Michael's most challenging outcomes is the loss of function and strength in his entire body, he is unable to stand up, or walk in anyway. Alongside this Michael was always left-handed, and unfortunately his left side of his body was affected much worse, causing him to now need to use high right hand for the limited function he currently has. Michael can still wave as seen in the picture. The future prospects of this improving are very slim, due to the weakness caused by the surgery and subsequent muscle loss from his time in intensive care. Michael’s rehabilitation causes him to become exhausted, but he is committed to maximally improving his quality of life as much as he can.

Michael is currently in an intensive rehabilitation care home. Our overall goal is to get out of the home where he is, and to regain as much of his independence and privacy as physically possible. Our parents have sold their family home, in order to buy a property for Michael to move into and are currently pulling out all the stops adapting and renovating it to finally get him back home. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity, kindness and donations made by local businesses, friends, family and strangers in the last 8 weeks, Our initial just giving page was set up to raise funds for an Eyegazer for Michael, we are overwhelmed that this was exceeded and we raised over £12,000 for Michael's Communication devise and further his journey to home.

One thing that’s worth noting with Michael is that his cognitive functions are all still fully active. Michael mentally is still the same person that went into that surgery, he asks questions which demonstrate his intelligence, understanding and care. He even shows a sense of humour and spells words which most of us couldn’t spell at the best of times!

Prior to surgery Michael has always had a loving family, who supported him as best they can, alongside a solid support structure from his friends and work colleagues. Michael was also married prior to his surgery, and unfortunately is now separated. Michael was a university lecturer teaching Psychology at the Manchester Metropolitan University, and was very close to completing his PHD. You can see more details of Michael on the newspaper article which was published about him: Liverpool Echo Article

'Don't take anything for granted, you just don't know what's around the corner'

Now lets bring Michael home....

** All content and images have been approved by Michael, our family and all of those involved in them, As these are sensitive images and details please do not take or use them without our prior permission which can be granted by messaging us via social media or emailing us at Michaelsjourneytohome@gmail.com **