This is a continuation of Mschluter's thread MSchluter is Very Sick. I have recently discovered that Mike needs our help. He is home & is having trouble gaining weight. In order to go to the next phase of treatment in April, Mike needs his weight up to 120 lbs. He is at a weight of 91 lbs. right now. The best thing he can hold down for most of the day are power bars. Preferrably anything with Caramel in it.

I am putting out a plea to his MB family to help him reach that target weight. If he doesn't reach this weight by April, they won't be able to progress with treatment. This place was a lifesaver for Mike when he needed it the most. He & Cindy have reached a place in their M that is fantastic & they have a solid foundation now. Let's all be that lifesaver again. This time by helping him fight for his life.

I personally want to thank everyone who donated to the family & sent their prayers & positive thoughts & get well cards.

Standing-

I remember MSchluter a little, I know he hasn't posted in a long time, and I did know about him being ill from another post.

I would like to help. I don't have much money, and the only credit card I have is my Child Support Debit card which is currently at a zero balance.

Is it possible to send power bars or supplies of any kind to the family??? I really would like to help, I'm just not in the position to do very much financially, and if I did it wouldn't be until more child support was deposited on my account, which won't be for 3 more weeks.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do.

God Bless,

-Caren

ST,

Here's my addy, let me know where I can send some stuff.

mborchid2@yahoo.com

Thanks,
L.

what do you need specifically?

How can we ship them some power bars?

Y, I never received the email from you. Can you try again? I'll send another to you. Can Mike drink ensure? Another thing I know is there is a supplement that turns milk or soy milk into 500 calories per serving. I would be happy to contribute something like that. I know quite a bit about putting weight on someone as my DS when they were threatening to put a gtube in him for failure to thrive.

Thanks for everyone's responses. Sorry I haven't been on in the past few days, I've been working & been having internet troubles. I'll have to check w/Cindy & see where we're going to have the power bars shipped. Let me respond to each of you if I may.

Caren, if you can't afford to contribute monetarily by all means don't go broke for this. Mike didn't even want me to do anything, but he's our friend & when I asked him if he would do the same for us, he responded, as I knew he would, You know I would. So it seems he has trouble accepting help from people who care about him. Must be the military thing, the whole pride thing. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> The only thing he can keep down is power bars. He had told us the name brands Power Bar & Hooah but we had purchased Oh Yeah bars & hopefully, with the flavors he likes, he can get away w/these. We purchased the Chocolate/Carmel & Peanut Butter/Chocolate for him. They haven't gotten them yet to know if they'll work. Hopefully, they will. I'll have to get back to you on any supplies that they would need. I know the $ situation is very tight for them so anything we can do w/in our price ranges will help I'm sure. Thanks so much for your concern.

Orchid, Look for an e-mail from [email]thirteenyrs@yahoo.com.[/email] Thanks for the concern.

Nikko, Mike loves the power bars w/peanut butter or caramel in them. See the post to Caren above. This is the main thing that's needed. Our target date is April 23rd. I pray we can get him up to the 120 lbs. by then. So it's only 8 more weeks before the deadline. After this date, there is nothing they can do for him.

WOL, See post to Caren. I'm checking to see if Cindy is ok w/shipping them to him directly. I'll let you know address info to ship them when I know details. Thanks so much for doing this.

FF, By golly, I DID send that e-mail out. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I'll be sending you another one. Thanks hon.

I think the biggest hurdle we're going to find is getting him exactly the kind that he can take well. He's having a problem w/shakes so your mention of Ensure, FF, I don't think will have any affect on him. Whatever he tries to intake, comes right back up & defeats the purpose of gaining nutrients unfortunately. The power bars work the best b/c he can hold those down most of the day so the nutrients are being processed until he regurgitates.

This is all so upsetting for everyone involved. Mike is so weary from all of this. He has no more energy left to fight. I've tried to be encouraging, my H & I both, & he is just so he$$-bent on giving up. Sometimes I feel very selfish in wanting him to fight & be w/us. The children are trying to understand the best they can, God bless them. And Cindy is exhausted. He is on drips all day, taking a break every now & then & when we talk to him, we can't help but think we're only prolonging the inevitable.

The good thing is that Mike has found peace w/God. I remember a time when he couldn't even talk to God, let alone find peace. And now it seems as if he's closer to God then he's ever been. I'm so thankful for that. Cindy, OTOH, is having a hard time finding God's will in all of this. She needs some encouragement too. It's so hard to watch someone you love just deteriorate right before your very eyes.

Mike has rec'd the power bars we sent to him & he is taking them well. They're staying down! PTL! We also sent him some funny cards & he was laughing. Hope we didn't knock out his IV. <img src="/ubbt/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Ok, j/k. But he does need to smile & enjoy life right now despite what's happening.

For all those who wanted an e-mail, I sent one. Let me know if you didn't get it. Been having trouble w/my internet lately.

Update on Mike:

He's gained 2 lbs. since we sent him the power bars. Obviously they're working. All those who would like to send him power bars, I can e-mail you his address. He likes anything w/peanut butter or caramel in it. We've found the Oh Yeah bars work for him.