Mike Frederiksen has always had a love for the arts. Before his illness, he was very active. He has a love for skateboarding, surfing, hunting and fishing. On Christmas 2021, he found himself in the hospital fighting for his life with covid, pneumonia, sepsis and then had a collapsed lung. He spent 27 days fighting to come home to his wife and two kids. Even after the doctor told him he had a 20% chance of surviving, he was able to make it home to his family.
Coming home on 10 lpm of O2 and later being diagnosed with lymphedema all over, mainly in his right leg in addition to the major scarring in his lungs that will never heal, has not been an easy road. He has been trying to get approved for disability for almost 3 years now, with no avail. His wife is the only working person in the family, after going through a major surgery for cancer just a few months before mike got sick. It’s been hard for this family to get back on their feet. They have borrowed from as many people as possible and even though they’ve tried their best, eviction and car repossession are still on the near horizon. Mike is considered a high risk “hire”, and his doctors will not release him for work due to his lungs not being strong enough to walk more than 1 ½ minutes and he can’t sit for more than 10 minutes, or his lymphedema will get worse.
Mike turned back to his artistic side and started drawing, painting, creating wood projects and even some beautiful jewelry. He would love any support for his beautiful work and gladly takes suggestions on ideas for new designs. Please donate if you’d like, so that this family doesn’t lose their home and only means of getting their Kindergartner and 6th grader to school as well as his wife to work.