The beginning of the story- read first if you have not been getting email updates

Starting at the beginning..

Thursday December 16-

Michael had not reported to work all week (week of December 13) and nobody had heard from him. He lives alone in Atlanta. Friends had tried to contact him, cell was dead.  A neighbor (Brandon Hively) went to check on him Wednesday afternoon and found him incoherent, babbling, hallucinating, apartment in complete disarray. They called an ambulance, took him to the hospital where they ran tests for drugs, came back clean. They did an MRI and found a "spot" in his left temporal lobe that they said might be a brain tumor. He was moved to Emory Hospital Wednesday night. Mom, Dad and Jordan all arrived early Thursday morning. 

Thursday December 16, 8:15 am-

Mom just talked to the doctor, he said that it is either a brain tumor or a brain bruise (whatever that it, I am hoping for that). He also said that whatever it is, it has been there for a while. They are doing more tests this morning including a full-body scan, and have him on  an IV. He is very emaciated and out of it, can not use the correct words. Seems frustrated, but recognizes Mom and Jordan. Whatever it is, they will wait for surgery until tomorrow morning. I will keep everyone posted (because that makes me feel useful). 

Please pray. Pray for Mom, Dad, and Jordan, they are all emotional. Pray that they will feel His presence and pull together. Pray for the doctors. Pray for Michael. 

Friday December 17, 7:30 am-

GOOD morning!

I say that because things look much brighter than they did yesterday at this time. They have tentatively diagnosed Michael with herpes-related encephalitis. You can read about it here: http://www.herpes-coldsores.com/herpes_encephalitis.htm Basically, Michael is a carrier of Herpes Simplex 1 (cold sores). This is super common, in fact my dad and I both carry this. In 2 people out of a million every year, this will travel to the brain and cause encephalitis. The good news is that it is treatable, with Michael's age and health status, he should recover (we hope) completely fairly quickly. It is treated with IV antibiotics (acyclovir) for 10 days (or longer dependent on how he is doing). It still has risks, but we are way excited when comparing it to the possibilty of a brain tumor. They did a spinal tap early this morning and just did an EEG. These will help confirm the diagnosis and give us an idea of what to expect. He also ate breakfast like a champ. He is still not making sense, but we are hoping those symptoms will clear up in the next 2-3 days.

Again, Thank you all for your prayers and concern. We feel incredibly blessed that he was found in time by his friend Brandon. Encephalitis can be fatal if it is not caught in time. Just feeling grateful!

Friday December 17, 7:40 pm-

The doctors are being very cautious and thorough, which means they can be a little scary at times. this afternoon the neuro team took over his case, so we have had to repeat the same stories and listen to a complete prognosis ranging from good to very bad. we hope to get some test results back tonight which will let us know what type of encephalitis michael has. we are hoping for herpes simplex encephalitis. this is the most treatable. other types are not treatable. I see that God had provided several blessings already in this, so I have to believe He will again. please continue to pray.


Michael is currently hooked up to a permanent eeg so his head is wrapped. he is in restraints because he wants to pull things out. he had his first shower in probably a week today, and is resting now. he will not be able to eat for 2 days because they are concerned about some air around his lungs. we want to avoid further complications. thank you again for your prayers. keep it up!

Saturday December 18, 1:00 pm-

Just got the news that it is confirmed as Herpes Simplex Encephalitis. This news is twofold- positive because this is the treatable type of encephalitis, and we were told yesterday that there are other types that are not treatable. Thankful he has been diagnosed and is on the correct course of treatment.

There is still a chance of long-term effects such as memory loss, tremors, weakness, trouble with speech, vision or hearing, loss of muscle control, depression, etc. We are not guaranteed anything at this point. (But really, when are we ever?) 70 percent of people with untreated encephalitis die, so again, we are so thankful he was found when he was. There are three stages- the first being flu-like symptoms (that Michael had last week), the second stage is confusion, hallucination, speech problems, etc. He was found in stage 2. The third stage is coma, then death. He does not appear (from his EEG) to be having seizures, which is good because that can complicate things further.

This is a lot of info, I know. At this point, the bottom line is that we know what it is and he is being treated for it. We can not look back or change anything, just pray, watch and wait to see signs of the Michael we love coming back. It will be a process of weeks. He will be here for a while. A few of you have asked, here is the hospital info:

Emory University Hospital

Room # G356

1364 Clifton Rd. NE

Atlanta, GA 30322

Mom does not really want visitors at this point. I will let you know if that changes.

We believe that he is going to recover and be himself again. As you all know, he is a pretty outstanding guy, and has a lot of fight in him. We have to believe that will make a difference and trust God for the timing.