Sunday September 29th MikeyD's first Birthday !

Mighty MikeyD  now has two Birthday’s September 7th and January 15th . He celebrated his first Birthday of his new life on September 7th. The day in which he was born again. The celebration started Friday night at the healing mass at St. Mary’s where father Jeff prayed over him and spoke about the Miracle of MikeyD who last September 7th he  was in a coma  woke up three weeks later and was paralyzed and could not speak. Everyone said his upper body would be paralyzed for the rest of his life and he would never use his hands or arms again, The parish of St. Mary’s held a hearing mass where everyone gathered to pray for the little boy. The story about little MikeyD spread and before you knew it all the churches in Middletown and many other churches   from Ireland to Hawaii and other parts of the world were all praying for a miracle for this little 12 year old boy !

We believe this was a major part of his healing Matthew 18-19.Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or more are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

MikeyD is now using his hands and arms a true miracle.

MikeyD has started CCD and will make his Confirmation next May with his cousin Brendan and many other friends thanks to Peggy Dunne.

We then celebrated MikeyD's new Birthday on Saturday with a party with a bunch of family and friends. We had a great wiffle ball game and big party it really made his day. Thank you everyone for coming.

Moya and I had to go to a family meeting last Friday at the Children’s specialized Hospital in Mountainside to meet with the doctors, therapist and teachers. We were very happy and proud to hear the reports first of all how they all love MikeyD and said he is a pleasure to be with every day and how good and kind he is to everyone he meets and that he walks around with a smile on his face. They said he is trying very hard and making progress every day. MikeyD still can’t write or tie his shoes but he is starting to read a little bit. We believe he will keep coming back. The Mighty MikeyD heart screening will be in February I will have an exact date soon and will let everyone know. The Screening will be open to all kids not just kids in Middletown and not just kids on school sports teams a lot of kids play on Rec and travel teams which has nothing to do with school. I am building a team of people who are helping me put this screening together  like Jim Curti from St.Mary’s basketball Peggy Dunne from St.Mary’s CCD, Barbara Cassin,  Jim Dolan from Monmouth Beach his  son Jimmy is also a SCA survivor and Mark Peter’s from Cardiac Science who is also an SCA survivor. Both Jimmy and Mark were very lucky to have a quick response from first responders and have an AED available within a few minutes unlike little MikeyD so they have no Brain Damage. Mark and I had lunch the other day and we were speaking about the miracle of MikeyD I told him the main goal of my family right now is to get little MikeyD better. Mark lost his best friend who was playing basketball like MikeyD to SCA. Mark believes as we do that God sent the Miracle MikeyD back to us so that he can go around when he gets better and save the lives of many other young children. I would like to share Mark’s Story with you here.

Hi! My name is Mark -

I am the AED Specialist with Cardiac Science, covering New Jersey, New York City, and Long Island. I am extremely passionate about my journey - (Notice that I did not say career!) - and I would like to tell you why...

When I was fifteen, I lost my childhood friend - Gregory Moyer - to sudden cardiac arrest.
(Please visit Greg's website: http://www.GregAED.org)

It was halftime of his basketball game when he had his event. There was no AED there and the ambulance did not respond in time. In fact, the average EMS response time is twelve minutes! 

He was one of twelve thousand school-aged children that year who died of sudden cardiac arrest that year. Did you know that every year, cardiac arrest remains the number one killer in the United States? It claims the lives of over 12,000 school-aged children annually!

Believe it or not, my personal experience does not end there.

On February 26th, 2009 - and in my previous life as a personal trainer - I had my own event and went into sudden cardiac arrest in a gym outside of Philadelphia. Thanks to quick action, off-duty paramedics, and defibrillation - I was given a second chance at life.

I've made it my lifelong goal to ensure that there are no more Gregory Moyers.
I want to give people a second chance at life, just as I was granted another shot.

If I can be of any help to you for anything related to defibrillation, or if you have any specific questions about AEDs, Laws in your area, and the Regulations for having a life-saving device - please ask. 

Live for a Passion! ... and Let the Beat Go On!

Mark and Jimmy Dolan  will be with us at the Mighty MikeyD Heart screening you can meet them there.

October is National Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month!

We Believe in Miracles !!!

Please keep praying and posting for MikeyD !!!

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Labor Day Updated for screening

It is hard to believe this time last year Mighty MikeyD was a Happy healthy 12 year old boy. We had just came back from our vacation in Ireland. For Moya Julia, Ciara, MikeyD and myself our lives could not have been better. Little did we know a few days later our lives would change forever. None of us will ever be the same. MikeyD was looking forward to returning to Bayshore as a 7th grader and starting back to sports as usual. He left as a 6^th grader and has never returned.  We had just picked up his fall baseball uniform and basketball practice had just started up again. He was back from vacation doing all the things he loved to do play sports with his friends. We still cannot believe we are only a few days away from that very hot humid tragic  Friday night of September 7th one year ago when little MikeyD went down on the basketball court. The Miracle in sneakers has come a long way since that night. We believe it was from all the prayers and support from all of you our family, friends, prayer warriors and the great Middletown community. Thank God Julia and Ciara are his guardian Angels they are so good to him.

 MikeyD   still has long way to go and  needs all the prayers and support he can get. Next Friday night September 6th at 8 PM we will be taking MikeyD to the healing mass at St. Mary’s where so many of you prayed for MikeyD last year which we know  healed a little boy who was paralyzed and could not talk for months. I hope you can join us at the mass on Friday night. None of us will ever know why MikeyD had to go through this, but  everyone around him knows that the Lord has a reason that will be revealed to us one day. Also I was speaking to Dr.Vetter regarding the MikeyD screening that we will be bringing to Middletown to screen all the kids we can screen for heart and dehydration problems. She told me to see if we had any nurses or technicians that can help us. This will keep the cost down for the funds we need to raise. If any of you know a nurse or a technician who would be willing to volunteer their time at the screening please let me know. On Saturday  afternoon September 7th which will be the one year anniversary from that tragic night we are planning a wiffle ball game for MikeyD since he can no longer play team sports which he misses it makes him feel good to have some friends around and play a little game we had a few games before and it was great. we played parents against the kids one day and that was great. I wish I had more time we could of had a little tournament. We are hoping we can have a few games on Saturday please let us know if you can join us to help MikeyD the more the better. The Doherty family would like to thank each and every one of you for all your prayers and support ! We could  never  made it this far without all of you. A great community that we are proud to be a part of. The green ribbons are still standing strong in our neighborhood they have survived the worst hurricane we have ever seen just another symbol. Dear God please let MikeyD keep coming back to us.

***Mary had a few good questions***

the Screening will be sometime in January or February as soon I have the exact date I will let everyone know ASAP.

The nurses will just need to do the Blood pressure.

The Techs we need are ECG and Echocardiogram techs.

If not CHOP will provide.

The wiffle ball game for MikeyD recovery Celebration will be Saturday at our house 3 pm we will make MAC n Cheese for the kids with hot dogs on the grill.

Hope to see you then.

We believe in Miracles !!!

Please keep praying and posting for MikeyD !!!

Thursday Night August 15th

Mighty MikeyD went back to CHOP last week for his check up with Dr. Vetter and some testing of his defibrillator and pace maker. MikeyD went through a stress test as well, Thank God everything checked out great. Mikeyd passed the stress test his heart is perfect all the damge to the left ventical from the Sudden Cardiac Arrest is healing, MikeyD's Defibrillator had no activity his little heart is healing almost as if it had never stopped beating. Little MikeyD's heart was damaged from the SCA. The big scar on his chest is looking better. It is hard to believe we are approaching the 1st anniversary of that tragic night when he was playing basketball and went down on the court. Dr Vetter said MikeyD is still dehydrated and needs to have at least 10 glasses of water  a day or a mix of water, Gatorade, or some other fluid.  Today is Dr. Vetter's Birthday. Happy Birthday from all of us I know you enjoy reading the blog. I spoke to Dr. Vetter about coming to Middletown to screen the kids she agreed. we are organizing it now unfortunately it will take us six months to plan it out there is a lot involved. We will be offering screenings to all kids in the middle school and high schools not just athletes but all kids.

Imagine if we save just one kid and one family from this tragedy ? I know we will save more than one but even just one is a major victory. I do not want one more child or their family to suffer from SCA ever again. The MikeyD recovery fund is also working on getting AED’s all over Middletown especially at outdoor sporting events to make Middletown safer for everyone especially our children of Middletown. 

Can you be sure an emergency rescue worker will always be three minutes away?
Sure enough to risk your life on it?
 the only chance a sudden cardiac arrest victim has for resuscitation is a shock from a defibrillator as soon as possible. According to the AHA (American Heart Association), defibrillation should be administered within the first three minutes of cardiac arrest. 

We all know the Mighty MikeyD story !!!

But he is a true Miracle one of the only known survivors after being down so long. All the Doctors say he is a very strong young boy.

Let’s all work together to help spread the word of the Mighty MikeyD Heart screening from CHOP coming to Middletown to help save all our children.

Right now it looks like it will be sometime in February I will keep you posted.

Please send the link to this blog to everyone you know with children the more we reach the better. I am hoping we can screen at least 500 kids. We had 141,000.00 hits since I posted 2 weeks ago. Let me know if you are interested in helping me to the spread the word for the screenings.

MIkeyD is getting stronger every week but he misses the interaction and friendship of playing sports on teams like he use to do so we are going to plan some more wiffle ball games in the fall.

MikeyD also misses being at Bayshore with his old friends.

Please pray that MikeyD will one day leave the Children’s hospital and return to Middletown and go back to Bayshore with friends where he belongs.

We Believe in Miracles !

Please keep praying and posting for MikeyD.

Tuesday Night July 30th

Our hearts are broken right here at home in  Middletown we have just suffered another tragedy last week.

another young athlete right here in our hometown was taken from us  by SCA at the same young age of 12 years old. My Family has  lived through this tragedy MikeyD was gone and came back to us by the grace of God. I will never forget the feeling of loss when MikeyD was gone, He came back to us as a different MikeyD but he came back to us. Let us all pray for this little girl and her family. I called Dr.Vetter and spoke to her about  what had just happened again right here I asked her if we could bring the CHOP team  to Middletown to screen all the kids especially any kids playing sports starting with the Middle school and high school kids. I have a meeting scheduled with her This  Thursday August 1st to go over a plan to have  the CHOP team come to Middletown. It will cost money to do this if I was not so deep in debt from medical bills I would finance it myself. I spoke to a friend of mine who runs a large basketball league he is going to join me on this crusade we will raise the money to pay and have all the kids screened. I am sure I can raise some money from corporate sponsors as well. Like my good friend Dennis McGinnis said doing this will help make the Big hole in my heart a little smaller.  You will be surprised how many kids tested will be dehydrated  sometimes I feel like parents do not believe me when I speak to them about how dehydration can cause heart problems in young athletes. Some kids playing sports in the heat need 12 pints of water to keep their heart healthy.

How many kids do you know drink 12 pints of water a day ?

I spoke with Darren Sudman who lost his son  Simon to SCA he is one of the founders of Simons fund. He told me Your family is the first one I know that has endured life after SCA. I have become friends with a young boy who survived SCA and his father. He will come to the screening and talk to us about the difference between himself and MikeyD due to the response time which is critical. The only reason he is alive without brain damage is due to the fact that he was only down for a few minutes before the AED arrived. His father started CPR right away within 5 minutes they had the AED. Ten minutes is too late you only have about 8 minutes before it is too late.
 Please help me spread the word send s link to the MikeyD site to anyone you know with kids.

Mighty MikeyD is heading back to CHOP this week for a checkup and some extended testing. We will visit with everyone there who has become like an extended family to us.

MikeyD continues to fight the fight he gets up every morning at 5:55 AM to go to the Children’s Specialized Hospital for his rehab while all his friends are on summer vacation and yet  he never complains.

We believe in Miracles !!!

Please keep praying and posting for MikeyD 

Thursday Night after 4th of July

The Miracle of Mighty MikeyD came to a full circle the other day when we had to pay an unexpected visit to the Emergency room at Riverview hospital. this is where the tragic journey of Mighty MikeyD started .

It was very hard for Moya,Julia,Ciara and myself to walk through those doors of the Emergency room  again. It really hit Moya hard when she walked in and looked around where MikeyD was laying lifeless. Pretty Much everyone that works in the Emergency room at Riverview knows the story of Mighty MikeyD some knew he was coming in and some did not. You would think a celebrity walked in with all commotion going on. Lee walked over and said MikeyD you are giving me the Chills you could see the Goosebumps on his arms and the hair on his arms was standing straight up. He had never seen anyone who was gone come back and walk through the Emergency room like MikeyD just did. I think we all had the chills. Lee turned around to Nigel who was standing behind him and said see I told you keep giving him compression's  That night none of us thought MikeyD was ever coming back to us. I give all the staff at Riverview that night a lot of credit for telling someone to continue and keep going on a little boy who was gone. On behalf of my family I would like to thank all of you in the  Riverview Emergency room for everything you have done my family will be forever grateful to all of you !

My goal is to set out and make sure you do not have to see another little boy or girl come in to the emergency room DOA ever again from SCA because of the lack of  response time no AED at the basketball court etc. Thank God again for Bob and Rob MikeyD’s Guardian angels without them no chance at all. I will be going to Trenton soon to make sure we have  AED’s even if it is a portable one at every sporting event. Also all people involved in sports should have to be  CPR certified and AED certified. This must become a law it will save a lot of children.

I am certified it does not take a lot of your time and is well worth it. I would ask everyone here with us on the blog and the care pages to myself and yourself a favor get certified. I will be putting something together in September for friends and family. You can look for a local Red Cross in your area if in the USA.

Red Cross First Aid, CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and AED (automated external defibrillator) training and certification meets the needs of workplace responders, professional rescuers school staffs, professional responders and healthcare providers, as well as the general public. We offer both certified and non-certified training options.

Little MikeyD is going through some Speech and OT evaluations today.

We really need to get MikeyD back to the great people at Bayshore and Middletown where he belongs.

He keeps fighting every day to relearn to do little things he never gives up.

He went through so much yet he keeps smiling.

We thank you God for  your Miracle of returning Little MikeyD back to us.

We promise to save other children one at a time.

Remember We believe in miracles.

Please keep praying and posting for MikeyD 

Sunday Night Back to Bayshore

Mighty MikeyD the Miracle in sneakers made his first appearance back to Bayshore Middle school since the night he went down. It was just about one year since he walked in the building after he got out of school last June for the summer a strong healthy 12 year old boy who left for summer vacation in Ireland. Jonathan Provenzano let the cat out of the bag when he posted it was great to see you back in school on Thursday.

Peggy Dunne picked up on it right away when she posted School on Thursday???

We want to hear all about it...even a visit back to school..is big...let us know.

it was just a visit I wish it was back to Bayshore for good. I had taken MikeyD back to Bayshore for a little visit and some evaluations. our goal is to get MikeyD back to Bayshore some time next year. some people may think we are too optimistic but that is one of our main goals right now to get him back where he belongs with great teachers and great friends right here in Middletown. it was amazing MikeyD was there for a few evaluations that I had requested for PT and speech. I was talking to Dr. George who is a great guy and I told him our goal is to get little MikeyD back to Middletown sometime  next year. When Dan was doing the PT evaluation Cindy the speech therapist was observing MikeyD for speech without anyone knowing. Word spread around the school like wild fire before you knew it Mrs. Force came in to see MikeyD along with Mrs, Wiltbank, Mrs Siegul, Fran the nurse and a few other teachers. when the students were changing classes they got involved. i felt bad for Dan and I told him  I guess you never worked with a celebrity before. this evaluation will take longer than you thought. I seen tears of joy from a lot of people some said I have just been hugged by a miracle others said I have just been hugged by an Angel. Little MikeyD does walk around with a smile and a glow that looks something like an Angel on earth. We walked in Mrs. Biddle's class and MikeyD said don't fiddle with the Biddle he then spoke to everyone in the class and said OK class it is time to get back to work I have to go. Mrs.Biddle turned around and said he did not lose his sense of humor and she is right. it is sad that his short term memory is shot but amazing to see that he remembers his past. We need to get him back to Bayshore with his friends and teachers who will take care of him. We need to see him walk across the stage next year and graduate with his cousin Brendan and friends like he should of before this tragedy happened to him.

We will Miss Mrs. Force she is a great Principal who is very sincere and is retiring this year. We wish you would stay around for another year just for MikeyD. We know you would take great care of him . We will miss you and wish you nothing but the best. Who knows if MikeyD will even make it back to Bayshore my bet is he will a lot of people may not agree. Let me know if you think MikeyD will make it back to Bayshore or not.  I post a lot about SCA from kids with heart problems even though little MikeyD does not have a heart problem and never did he was just dehydrated. I hope by posting this we can save one little Heart at a time. Now that summer is here please be aware of your kids playing sports and staying hydrated they need to do it before going to games or practice it is too late if they are thirsty. Keep an eye on your kids ask the coaches to keep an eye on kids who are red and overheated send the coaches a link to this site. Let everyone be educated on the dangers of dehydration. A friend of a friend of mine son was getting a physical the other day for sports and all the mother wanted was the doctor to sign the paper. The doctor found a heart Murmur when he went to the Cardiologist the doctor said it was because he was dehydrated. Get and ECG and test for Dehydration for your kids. Get CPR certified and learn about AED’s  especially if you are a coach.

I remember a friend of mine Dave Read posting I continue to pray for Mighty MikeyD...  I can’t wait ‘til he speaks and both MikeyD’s smile together.  I have been following the blog. It was heart breaking  let’s spare others.Here is what took little MikeyD down !!!

"DEHYDRATION AND SCA"

If you think it can't happen to you, think twice!!!!!

if you are not running don't worry about it.

One particular heart condition which is seldom discussed yet is responsible for thousands of lives each year in America alone, is Cardiovascular Shock, sometimes known as Cardiovascular Insult but perhaps more popularly known by the name of its primary cause of "Dehydration".

Cardiovascular Insult occurs when the body becomes dehydrated plunging it into a state of shock. Dehydration is not a unique condition, but it is a situation that is often ignored especially at the subclinical stage which is just enough dehydration to be a potential problem but not enough to cause severe symptoms. Most often a person will upon feeling thirst, simply drink enough to satisfy the thirst but not necessarily enough to safeguard normal physiology.

In a great percentage of dehydration victims the first symptoms are often fatal. The tragedy of this condition is that it could have been avoided by simply increasing the intake of water.

Most recreational athletes as opposed to professionals, do not drink enough liquid to replace the fluids they lose during exercise. This includes Basketball. What is more startling, is that as many as 80 percent of the American public are living in a continuous state of subclinical dehydration and are not even aware of it.

Research has proven that fluid demands in our body change rapidly making it impossible to use thirst as a reliable indicator of potential dehydration. The body absolutely requires between 48 to 64 oz of water each and every day. This equates to 6 to 8 large glasses of water daily (in Arizona, the need is far greater). A water bottle should be as much a part of every working person's and athlete's equipment as a hammer, tennis racket or golf club.

In addition, the minerals lost due to perspiration go much further than simply sodium and potassium. Science has proven, health is positively affected by the addition of 84 trace minerals in the general diet in the form of supplementation.

Sport, recreational and occupational deaths are increasing each year to Americans appearing to be at their peak of performance. How many of these deaths could have been prevented by the addition of a simple item called WATER!!!!!!!!!

Remember We Believe in miracles !!!!

Please keep praying and posting for Mighty MikeyD !!!

Friday June 7th

Mighty MikeyD continues to amaze us. We opened the pool over Memorial day weekend and we worried about Mighty Mike the whole time. MikeyD was always a swimmer and he loved the water. we were not sure how he was going to handle the water again and we did not think he would be able to swim we blew up some rafts so he could float around. We also knew that his sisters and sully would look out for him. Before we knew it the little boy who not so long ago was in a wheelchair  was out of the raft and swimming in the pool. It is amazing there are a few things that he use to do real well that are coming back to him like pitching a baseball, shooting hoops not three’s like before closer but with perfect form and swimming. Little MikeyD is truly a miracle even though he has a long way to go and is totally different than before he was that tragic night he is getting better and stronger every day. MikeyD did fall three time last week his balance is still off and he is trying to move faster than he can. The first time he fell he cut his right knee and his left hand while he was laying on the ground and I seen the blood I said are you OK and he said no, I said let me help you up he looked up at me and said I want to get up on my own he laid there for about ten minutes before he got himself up. You could tell he was sad and was thinking about how hard things are for him now that use to be easy. My heart goes out to him every day when I watch him struggle yet he never complains he just keeps fighting the fight.Linda Verange was right he is now batting every time we play wiffle ball and he is batting real well. We are looking forward to having more games as soon as the weather clears up. Julia’s Birthday was last Wednesday she turned 17 and got her license the first thing she promised MikeyD was that when she got her license she would take him for Ice cream she kept her promise she picked him up when he got home from the children’s Hospital and took him to Dairy Queen you can see how happy he was from the picture above. Today is also my brother Seamus the Hero Cop’s Birthday. Happy Birthday Seamus you and MikeyD remind me so much of each other. In October, Seamus was presented by the NYPD with the prestigious Theodore Roosevelt Award in recognition of his outstanding “endurance and performance of duty in the face of life-threatening injury”. I am very proud of you and MikeyD.

***Please help spread this information below Pauline maybe you can get this info to the sports clubs in Ireland to pass around my goal is for all sports groups and teams to have an AED at every practice and event ********

Make sure all of your children playing sports stay hydrated now that the weather is getting warmer. Also make sure all your children playing sports are screened and get and EKG just to be safe if we can save one kid at a time we will be doing a great thing. I have been reading and studying a lot about sudden cardiac arrest in children and you would be amazed what I have learned and how common it is. It occurs when the heart’s electrical system malfunctions and the heart stops beating. The heart can no longer pump blood to the brain and vital organs. SCA occurs most often with little or no warning.

SCA is NOT a heart attack. A heart attack is a plumbing problem. It occurs when one or more blood vessels become blocked thus preventing the proper flow of blood to the heart.

• SCA is the leading cause of death in the United States claiming an estimated 300,000 people each year or approximately 1000 people a day.

·         SCA is the leading cause of death in student athletes.

·         Every 3 days, a young, competitive athlete suffers SCA.

·         For every minute that goes by without an AED the child’s chance of survival goes down 10% so in 10 minutes you have almost no chance MikeyD was down much longer than that without an AED. You now have to believe he is truly a miracle in sneakers we thank God every day for giving us this miracle.

Please keep praying and posting for mighty MikeyD