Mike Worwa ~ You Will Be Deeply Missed

https://caringbridge.org/visit/michaelworwa/journal/view/id/5ef12fec8dbc033415e8bac5 

Hi everyone,

This is the post we were all terrified to write and hoped and prayed so hard with all of you that my beloved and our children’s Dad would come home to us. However, today, our family made the decision to begin comfort measures for the best Husband, Dad, Doobs fan, coworker, and friend as he transitions out of this world.

To explain a little bit about how we arrived here, Monday night, we received a call from a neurosurgeon on his care team who explained that at this point in the recovery process after a brain bleed, they have a good idea of where a patients’ neurological status would sit for the long term. He also let us know that his CT scans and MRI, labs, etc. are not worsening and do not explain why it is so, so difficult for him to follow commands or open his eyes. This makes their job difficult because there is nothing on a scan or a lab result that suggests anything needs treatment to improve his wakefulness. It is a “wait and see” situation because a brain bleed can result in a variety of serious outcomes, but he said that it is very likely he would never come home and always be in a facility where he would require 100% care for all activities, and may never recognize us as his family or be able to communicate with us again. He let us know that should we decide to continue rehabilitation, the next step would be to place a permanent breathing and feeding tube to transition him out of the ICU into a long-term care facility. It was a shock to hear after what seemed like small improvements continued to occur.

Yesterday, we received a call from Dr. Brown, his ICU physician, who began discussing the permanent breathing and feeding tube procedures. As we struggled to make the decision without being present with him, he offered to let us come in, visit with him, and see what they meant by those daily updates. This was a very, very tough and emotional experience, but it was very nice for us to talk to him, hold him, and touch him for the first time in almost a week and a half. At this time it did become clear to us, based on the very, very painful stimulation required to provoke even the smallest response, that this isn’t what he would want. Though we would have taken him any way we could have had him, we would never want him uncomfortable, in pain or unable to live life how he did, which was meticulously caring for his lawn, fixing up the house, taking calls from him clients from 8 am-5 pm, driving his beautiful truck, and recognizing and loving his family.

So, today, we completed the toughest call of our lives and will begin saying goodbye. We will miss him so much. 

Thank you to our prayer warriors, our vibe and energy senders, and our new and old Doobie Brothers fans for being so supportive of his recovery. I know he tried the best he could to come back to all of us, but his parents, daughter Emily, and Uncle Wally are ready to welcome him into his next home. We are heartbroken and very tearful as we write this, but we were SO lucky to have him as husband and father. We are better people because of him, and will always be thankful and celebrate his memory. 

Thank you for your ongoing support as we move through this very painful and difficult time. We ask for some privacy in the coming days as we work through and process this as a family. Please continue to pray for his peace and his comfort.

We love you so much, dear husband and father.

-Carol, Stefanie and Andrew

Donations will be used to assist with medical bills, final expenses and brain aneurysm research.